Alors qu'elle vient en aide à un joueur compulsif, une psychiatre fait la connaissance d'un beau parleur qui l'entraîne dans l'univers sombre mais fascinant des fraudes, des arnaques et des ... Tout lireAlors qu'elle vient en aide à un joueur compulsif, une psychiatre fait la connaissance d'un beau parleur qui l'entraîne dans l'univers sombre mais fascinant des fraudes, des arnaques et des escroqueries.Alors qu'elle vient en aide à un joueur compulsif, une psychiatre fait la connaissance d'un beau parleur qui l'entraîne dans l'univers sombre mais fascinant des fraudes, des arnaques et des escroqueries.
- Réalisation
- Scénario
- Casting principal
- Récompenses
- 6 victoires et 5 nominations au total
- Billy Hahn
- (as Steve Goldstein)
- Sgt. Moran
- (as W.H. Macy)
Avis à la une
*** out of ****
One thing I can not seem to get past is the acting. Apparently this is something that is part of Mamet's style but it just comes across as awful. A more orthodox approach to the performances would have elevated this film from good to great.
One of David Mamet's better movie efforts (like Untouchables, Spanish Prisoner and Glengarry Glen Ross), it's best knowing nothing about this movie before seeing it.
8/10.
"House of Games" isn't a bad movie. In fact, in the right hands, it could have been brilliant. But poor casting choices and what seems to be an iron-fisted direction style have doomed this film to mediocrity.
Director and writer David Mamet seems to have been intent on controlling every moment with an almost obsessive focus. The actors seem to struggle to break free and act. Yet they seem reined in as if every move, every word and action were carefully (and poorly) choreographed.
The script, like the direction, is wooden and inflexible, rendering a dichotomy throughout as if it was written for the stage, not for a camera. It's technically correct, but artistically binding. As a result, the actors struggle to sound realistic and natural, and it comes across as forced.
In the lead role, Lindsay Crouse is stiff and amateurish. Her character never really develops from the cool and uptight physician to the loose and morally reckless criminal that she is supposed to become. Her lines are delivered like a recitation, as if she is struggling to get each syllable correct. I'm not sure if it's her acting or Mamet's directing. Either way, it can be painful to watch at times.
The rest of the cast strive to overcome Mamet's direction, and for the most part, they succeed. Joe Mantegna turns on the charm here and there, and pulls off the affable con man with as much panache as he's allowed.
The story is great, and had the cast been allowed to run with it, the movie might have been a real gem. The subtle nuances that could have given the film depth were all but ignored, sub-plots went nowhere, and characters that should have been more developed came across two-dimensional.
As I said, I'm willing to forgive a lot for art's sake, and this movie required a lot of forgiveness. But it did provide a couple of hours of entertainment. It kept me engrossed and involved, and for that I gave it a 6 out of 10 stars.
Le saviez-vous
- AnecdotesRicky Jay was a sleight-of-hand artist and an acknowledged authority on the art of the con. In an NPR interview, Jay related that when David Mamet needed a short-change scam to be explained in the movie, he asked Jay for details of an authentic short-change hustle. However, Jay did not want to betray the confidence of the hustlers he knew who still used various short-change cons for their "livelihood". The envelope switch seen in the final film is an original switch invented by Jay specially for the film. Later, it was reported that an amateur thief had been caught attempting to use the switch as he had learned it from the film.
- GaffesMargaret Ford takes her smokes from a package of unfiltered "stubby" Camels, but the actual cigarettes she uses are longer (probably Pall Malls) so they'll "read" better on screen.
- Citations
Joey: The bitch is a booster.
Mike: The bitch is a born thief, man.
Mr. Dean: So, you had her made from the jump?
Mike: I'm tellin' ya. A ton of fuckin' bricks! Show me some REAL con-men.
Joey: Yeah, we showed her some con-men.
Mike: We showed her some DINOSAUR con-men. Some old style.
Joey: Yes, sir.
Mike: Years from now, they're gonna have to go to a museum to see a frame like this.
Joey: That's right.
Mr. Dean: Took her money and screwed her, too.
Mike: A small price to pay.
- Bandes originalesFugue
From "Toccata in C Minor (BWV 911)"
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Warren Bernhardt (piano)
[Played during both the opening and end credits]
Meilleurs choix
- How long is House of Games?Alimenté par Alexa
Détails
- Date de sortie
- Pays d’origine
- Site officiel
- Langues
- Aussi connu sous le nom de
- House of Games
- Lieux de tournage
- 211 Club - 211 Union Street, Seattle, Washington, États-Unis(Dennis Nyback)
- Société de production
- Voir plus de crédits d'entreprise sur IMDbPro
Box-office
- Montant brut aux États-Unis et au Canada
- 2 585 639 $US
- Week-end de sortie aux États-Unis et au Canada
- 116 677 $US
- 18 oct. 1987
- Montant brut mondial
- 2 585 639 $US