May 2000
Time Out - Movies
Funny Games
US-Rated: R
German release date: May 29
A married couple, George and Ann Farber (Tim Roth and Naomi Watts), head out to their country home with their son (Devon Gearhart). As they arrive they wave to their neighbors, but they seem to be busy with a couple of guests. Later, when Ann is quietly settled in her kitchen, one of those neighborly guests comes by to request some eggs. Peter (Brady Corbet) smashes the eggs and immediately demands more, turning the situation into a strange nightmare. Peter refuses to leave and is soon joined by Paul (Michael Pitt). Over the course of one night, these young men use the Farbers for their own amusement, subjecting them to a series of “games.”
Funny Games—an exceedingly vicious exercise in cinematic manipulation—pushes the audience head-first into the suffering of the victims. Not an easy watch, it nevertheless has earned director Michael Haneke critical acclaim. That is, the Austrian filmmaker was praised for the German original when it premiered ten years ago under the same title. The
Funny Games of 2008 is a shot-to-shot remake and certainly as intelligent. Still, some may question why a brilliant movie had to be remade with an all-American (and of course more famous) cast of actors. (The original version is available at DVD rentals, by the way.)
Married Life
US-Rated: PG-13,
German release date: May 8
In 1949, married businessman Harry Allen (Chris Cooper) becomes smitten with a beautiful widow named Kay (Rachel McAdams). From there, the story heads directly into noir territory: Harry wants to spare his wife (Patricia Clarkson) the agony of separation and plots to do the only humane thing possible by: Spiking her digestion medicine with poison.
Married Life is narrated by Harry’s friend, Richard Langley (Pierce Brosnan), who cannot bring himself to tell Harry that he, too, has fallen for Kay. Meanwhile, Harry is struggling to act out his scheme.
Married Life is an entertaining blend of film noir, comedy and melodrama. It does toy with open allusions to Hitchcock, but the plot never quite lives up to that master of suspense. Nonetheless, brilliant performances, especially by Brosnan, make this movie worth the while. <<<
