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Michael Haneke, Funny Games
03/15/2008 Let's be honest here. Nobody likes rich white people and people especially don't like rich white people who play "name that tune" to tracks of Vivaldi and Rachmaninoff in their spare time. So it seems prudent to assume a movie about the explicit torture and murder of rich white people would be an easy score for a low-budget filmmaker but unfortunately, it's a little bit tougher than that. In this remake of his own Austrian original, Michael Haneke's Funny Games is reset and recast in the true land of the upper-middle class with Tim Roth and Naomi Watts playing the husband and wife protagonists Ann and George. They and their son Georgie Jr. (Devon Gearhart) have just come out to their vacation home in hopes of nice quiet days on the lake relaxing in their new sailboat and grilling out in wearing their matching polo shirts. Things come to an abrupt halt, however, as the Beavis/Butthead duo of Peter (Brady Cobert) and Paul (Michael Pitt) pay a visit asking, like all annoying neighbors, for a few eggs to break and to try out George's new set of clubs on the family dog. From here on out, the idea is pretty simple: Peter and Paul will try to kill Ann's entire family before the night is out and they will do their very best to stay alive. All the while, the two boys plan on having fun doing it whether it means games of Simon Says with hostages or hide and go seek with a shotgun. As you might guess, this is not a film for the faint of heart or the weak of stomach and probably hazardous for the sane and the sober. Naomi Watts is absolutely intense in her portrayal of Ann, melting down into pure terror as her boy is tortured in front of her and her husband is transformed to an invalid mass. Her highly capable acting, however, fails to meet any real standards of greatness and falls short of being very memorable despite the inherent risk to the role. Roth likewise issues an intensity typical of his other performances, recalling Reservoir Dogs in his pale-faced emotional shock. Having fewer lines, he maintained a little more subtlety than his shrieking counterpart but still fell below the mark when it comes to making moves that are really astounding. Without a doubt, the two villains were the stars of the show giggling viciousness between their ever-white teeth. Pitt plays the mastermind with incredible aplomb, make-believing a frightening joy in his sadism unseen since Malcolm MacDowell in Caligula (you thought I was going to say A Clockwork Orange, didn't you?). Cobert, the dopey sidekick, is equally layered balancing the act almost perfectly with his goofy curiosity and seemingly vulnerable underbelly. The directing has its strong points also, apparently replicating the original shot for shot. Haneke's long takes are absolutely beautiful, appropriate for the violence and the forcing the agony of its aftermath upon the audience. Watching Watts struggle half-naked and bound by duct-tape to rise to the kitchen for countless minutes unblinking adds a reality to the murders removing from them the romance and excitement added by most typical Hollywood portrayals. Haneke's writing, however, left a great deal to be desired. Though it had very decent dialogue and some extremely clever twists and turns, he just tries to get too smart adding a "fiction/reality" philosophical discussion that's been done countless times before. Not only that, but it's been done better and without capsizing the movie experience 2/3 of the way through. Had he maintained a little bit of modesty instead of piling on "deepness" and "meaning" he might have had a better show. Not to mention some of the music he chose sounded like reject Fantomas bootlegs. For the most part, a good film. Not necessarily one you'd want to watch with your parents or on a date but good enough if you're tired of watching old copies of Last House on the Left and Man Bites Dog. The performances of Cobert and Pitt alone are reason to see this movie as well as its distinct aversion from the typical portrayal of violence you'd see in most other films today. Most definitely a film that could have been done better but not a type of film that's made often enough at all. Comments [post a comment]Comments are closed |
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Funny Games Naomi Watts Tim Roth Austrian Film Michael Haneke Cinema Review