Michael Pitt and Brady Corbet want to play some FUNNY GAMES(2008).
© Warner Bros.

Mania Grade: B+
DVD: Funny Games
Rating: R
Starring: Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt, Brady Corbet
Written By: Michael Haneke
Directed By: Michael Haneke
Distributor: Warner Home Video
Original Year of Release: 2008
Extras: None
Buy it now!

Related Links

0

FUNNY GAMES

Funny Games was a difficult film to review. On one hand there are numerous outstanding elements to this horror/psychological thriller. On the other hand, the Director tries to be a bit too cute and threatens to drag the entire film down the drain. Funny Games is a shot-for-shot remake of the original Austrian film (also directed by Michael Haneke) that came out in 1997. Haneke remade the film in order to reach a broader U.S. audience who typically eschews foreign movies.

Naomi Watts and Tim Roth play Ann and George who, along with son George Jr., have come to stay at their lakefront vacation home. Their idyllic holiday soon turns to horror with the arrival of two young men who look like they just walked off the campus of some Ivy League school in their white, preppy golf attire. Under the pretense of wanting to borrow eggs for a neighbor, they break George’s leg with a golf club and soon put the entire family through an excruciating series of mind games, and mental and physical abuse.

Paul (Michael Pitt) and Peter (Brady Corbet) are truly terrifying because they are the antithesis of what we normally think of when it comes to screen psychos. They appear innocent, almost angelic in their appearance, even down to their white golf gloves and their baby faces. Their unfailing politeness, even as they torment and threaten the family is unsettling to say the least. 

One eerie debate takes place between the young men about whether Ann is physically fit or not. They force her to strip naked in front of her husband although they are respectful enough to cover the son’s head so he cannot see. The thing about this scene is you legitimately feel that they really did make her strip to settle their debate, and not just for the cheap thrill of seeing her nude. They allow her to get dressed immediately after. When Ann asks why they just don’t kill them, Paul courteously replies that there would be no entertainment in that.

Understand, Paul is not talking about his or Peter’s entertainment; he’s talking about the audience’s entertainment. We are the voyeurs to this disturbing scene and the pair is aware of our presence. Funny Games breaks down that fourth wall of reality. Several times throughout the film Paul looks directly into the camera and speaks to the audience as if they were casual bystanders. At times they are seemingly looking for our approval and other times they are merely informing us of their thoughts. However, it’s the infamous “rewind” scene that has caused the most stir with the film. This destroys the audience’s usual expectations for a film of this type. Haneke was trying too hard to send the message that ours is a violent society and sometimes we can do nothing but just watch helplessly. The message could have been conveyed without the cheap parlor tricks.

Pitt’s performance is engaging and frightening. This is a guy who most men could beat the snot out of and yet you’d never want to turn your back on him. His performance is even better than the one he gave in the equally disturbing 2001 film “Bully”. Corbett is also outstanding as the overly sensitive, yet equally psychotic, Peter. Watts, Roth and even Devon Gearheart as George Jr. all adeptly display a sense of fear and helplessness. 

This is not a torture porn film. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Most of the violence, certainly the worst of it, takes place off camera and we only hear it happen and listen the anguished cries. Haneke does tend to linger too long on certain scenes such as Ann struggling to get to her feet for about five minutes when her hands and feet are bound. Haneke has made a film that tries too much to be an Art House film rather than a horror film and falls just short of being brilliant.