Funny Games (2007)

Funny Games. Directed by Michael Haneke. Written by Michael Haneke. Release Date: 27 March 2008. Country of Production: United States. Key Cast: Naomi Watts (Ann), Tim Roth (George), Michael Pitt (Paul).

This movie was a unique experience for me. I watched it recently for the second time, only to find myself reluctantly admitting that its one of my favorite films of all time. I say reluctantly because I hate this movie. I saw it in theaters and it was simultaneously the first time I audibly cheered and audibly cursed at a movie screen in public. I hated it. I still hate it. That's why its so damn good.

This film is designed from start to finish to infuriate its audience. Every convention of storytelling and genre expectation is twisted, taunted, and turned on. The male protagonist is weak. The villains are unstoppable and inexplicable. Escape after escape is presented to tantalize the audience and always they are thwarted--i.e. the shotgun or the knife in the boat. These are simply ways to play with our expectations, but Haneke goes so far as to break the fourth wall and even to defy the accepted rules of time and space to erase the last hope of every viewer that they might know what will happen next. Haneke renders the audience completely helpless.

Besides being masterfully satirical and a true experiment in film/viewer interaction, Funny Games is also visually beautiful. Its shot with a pristine stillness that leaves the viewer completely exposed to the content of the film. Despite the fact that almost no violence is actually displayed on screen (again in defiance of our modern expectations), one remembers in the movie a gripping brutality. A shot of a blood-splattered television set or the gut-wrenching screams of a victim off screen are more than enough to terrify and disgust any viewer who comes under the spell of the film. Instead of using flashy editing to get a cheap scare, Haneke uses mind-bogglingly long takes to allow the gravity of a scene to sink in--the most notable being just after Peter and Paul first leave the house and Naomi Watts must free herself.

I know I'm gushing at this point, but the acting is also incomparable. Naomi Watts and Tim Roth are brilliantly believable as the ill-equipped victims of Paul and Peter's killing spree. Also, I'm not sure I've ever hated anyone more than Michael Pitt in this film. If I saw him on the street I might attack him. Bravo sir.

I'm positive there's much more to say on this film. I may well have to supplement this at some point. I know Sally and Plato have both seen this movie, and I'd love to hear back from you guys on this. I haven't seen the original, but I'm made to understand that they are shot for shot duplicates. Regardless I'd like to see it. Also, I know Plato and I have both seen The Strangers, which is more or less an Americanized remake of the original Funny Games as well. Care to compare sir?