House of Games
| House of Games | |
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| Directed by | David Mamet |
| Produced by | Michael Hausman |
| Written by | Jonathan Katz David Mamet (story) David Mamet (screenplay) |
| Starring | Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna, Mike Nussbaum, Lilia Skala J. T. Walsh |
| Distributed by | Orion Pictures Corporation |
| Release date(s) | October 11, 1987 |
| Running time | 102 minutes |
| Language | English |
House of Games is David Mamet's 1987 film directorial debut. Mamet wrote the screenplay himself, from a story he devised with Jonathan Katz. The film's cast includes Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna, Ricky Jay, and J. T. Walsh.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Margaret Ford (Crouse) is a psychiatrist. She has published a book, Driven: Compulsion and Obsession in Everyday Life, which has made her financially well off. One day, she's in a session with Billy, a compulsive gambler who informs her that his life is in danger. He owes $25,000 to a criminal figure — money he doesn't have — and if he doesn't pay, he will be killed.
Margaret visits a pool hall and bar called the House of Games and confronts the man Billy owes, Mike (Mantegna). After a brief conversation, Margaret sizes Mike up as a tough talker, but not a violent gangster. Mike reveals that Billy's debt is only eight hundred dollars and agrees to forgive the debt if Margaret accompanies him to a high-stakes poker game as his girlfriend, using her to help spot the tell of another gambler (Jay).
Exhilarated at the chance to take part, Margaret even volunteers $6,000 of her own money to back up Mike's bet because she’s spotted the tell that Mike’s opponent is bluffing. Things go wrong. Not only does the player have a winning hand, he also brandishes a gun, demanding the $6,000 she promised as collateral. It is only when Margaret sees a drop of water fall from the pistol barrel that she realizes the whole setup is a con – designed strictly to take her money. Mike and his men see that the jig is up, and nonchalantly pack up the con. Mike apologizes, saying it was “only business … nothing personal.”
Back in her normal routine, Margaret continues to think about her night at the House of Games. She returns, proposing to Mike that she follow him around, learn the ins and outs of his world, perhaps write a book on the experience. Mike is skeptical but agrees. He shows her first-hand how a con game works. Her fascination grows. The pair end up going to a hotel room and making love.
Mike mentions that he has a role in another con that night. Margaret begs to tag along. Mike, his associate Joey (Mike Nussbaum), and their mark (Walsh) come upon a briefcase of money that someone seems to have accidentally left on the street before getting into a cab. The three men go to the mark's hotel room to keep an eye on each other and discuss what to do with the cash.
Mike confides to Margaret that the $80,000 in cash is real, borrowed from the mob and due back the next day. The plan is to have the mark propose paying Mike and Joey a percentage in exchange for taking the briefcase, but then they will switch the case at the last minute.
The mark does as planned, but Margaret sees and hears what no one else does: that he has a gun on his belt, and that he is planning with others over a two-way radio to arrest the trio. Margaret warns Mike and Joey that the mark is a cop and it's a trap, and she is desperate not to get caught herself. A scuffle develops and the cop/mark is killed when his gun discharges. Mike makes a run for it with Joey and Margaret. They steal a car and escape. But the briefcase is nowhere to be found: it's been left behind in the commotion. Mike blurts out that the mob will turn them all in for the cop's murder if they fail to return the mob's money. Margaret, who has now fallen for Mike and fears for his safety, as well as her own, offers to replace the $80,000.
Overwhelmed by the experience, Margaret is visited by Billy, her patient, but is too distressed to have a session with him. By sheer chance, she spots Billy leaving her place and sees that his car is the very escape vehicle she was pressed into using during the hotel getaway. Margaret puts the pieces together. She spies on the con men--among whom is the "dead" cop/mark--and sees for herself that everything was a ruse to swindle her out of $80,000; making love to her, she overhears Mike say, was "a small price to pay."
Margaret has a gun (the gun she, ironically, took from Billy in their earlier session). She has overheard when Mike is leaving town and lies in wait for him at the airport. At first she puts on an act, pleading to travel with him with the additional $250,000 she says she has brought. Mike coaxes her into a deserted dock of the airport where they can be alone. When she misspeaks, Mike realizes that Margaret knows the score. He tells her there's nothing she can do about it and turns to leave. Margaret pulls out her gun and demands that Mike beg her for his life. He refuses and she shoots him repeatedly until he dies.
Later, we see that Margaret has gone on with her life, a changed woman, now able to "forgive herself," as her mentor had urged her to do. She shows no sign of guilt or remorse for murdering Mike. She steals a gold lighter out of the purse of another woman in a restaurant and relishes the acquisition.
[edit] Cast
- Lindsay Crouse as Dr. Margaret Ford
- Joe Mantegna as Mike
- Ricky Jay as George
- Mike Nussbaum as Joey
- J. T. Walsh as the Businessman
- Lilia Skala as Dr. Littauer
- William H. Macy as Sgt. Moran
[edit] DVD
In August 2007, the Criterion Collection released a special edition of Mamet's film on DVD. Among the supplemental material included are an audio commentary with Mamet and Ricky Jay, new interviews with actors Lindsay Crouse and Joe Mantegna, and a short documentary shot on location during the film's production.[1]
[edit] Stage Adaptation
Playwright Richard Bean adapted Mamet's script for a production at the Almeida Theatre, London, in September 2010. To meet the confines of the medium the stage version is set in just two locations, and the final resolution between Mike and Margaret is softened. Critical reaction to Bean's version was mixed: Michael Billington found only a "pointless exercise", but Charles Spencer thought that the stage version delivered "far better value than the original picture".[2][3]
[edit] Notes
- ^ The Criterion Collection: House of Games by David Mamet
- ^ Billington, Michael (17 September 2010). "House of Games". The Guardian . http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2010/sep/17/house-of-games-michael-billington. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
- ^ Spencer, Charles (17 September 2010). "House of Games, Almeida Theatre". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-reviews/8008947/House-of-Games-Almeida-Theatre-review.html. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
[edit] External links
- House of Games at the Internet Movie Database
- House of Games at Allrovi
- House of Games at Rotten Tomatoes
- Roger Ebert's "Great Movies - House of Games"
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