Funny Games (2008)
Review by Jude Felton
It is not often that I will watch a movie that is a remake having not first seen the original version. Not often, but it does happen occasionally. There are reasons for this, the main one being that if and when I do visit the original I don’t want my viewing tainted by thoughts of the remake, regardless of the caliber of the latter flick. Another reason would be that the majority of movies that are remade I have seen anyway, so choice didn’t even enter the equation. Funny Games is one remake that is in the minority though; I was perfectly aware of the 1997 movie, yet for whatever reason never got around to catching it. Maybe with the fact that Michael Haneke has remade his own movie here I was having visions of the butchering that George Sluizer gave to his movie The Vanishing when he remade it as an English language movie? Who knows? I do know this, though, and that is that I plan on watching the original Funny Games very soon, because if this version is anything to go by it should be terrific.
George (Tim Roth) and Ann (Naomi Watts), along with their son Georgie, are heading out to their summer house with the hopes of having a relaxing time on their boat and shooting a round of golf or two. Nearing their house though they stop by a neighbor’s to inquire as to whether they would be able to help launch the boat. The neighbors are standing on their lawn in the company of two strangers, and after a short while give what seems like a forced response to the question. George and Ann both seem to think something is not quite right but give it no further thought. Maybe they should have.
Not long after arriving at their destination the family is paid a visit by two very polite, some might say bloody creepy, young men named Peter and Paul.
Now, without wanting to give too much away of what is to follow I’ll just say that George, Ann and Georgie are in for one hell of a night, as Funny Games proceeds into a quite delectable home invasion style movie. One that is cold, cruel and not especially funny.
Full of long tortuous shots, uncomfortable silences and pitch black humor, Funny Games is an exercise in prolonged cruelty. You will feel like an unwitting voyeur whilst watching this movie; a fact that Haneke plays up to several times throughout the movie with one character speaking directly to the audience. In some films this wouldn’t work, here it just adds to the terrifying experience the family endures. You will be complicit with the onscreen cruelty, and Haneke wants you to suffer for it.
Of course, this wouldn’t be in the slightest bit effective had the cast not been firing on all cylinders, of which you have no worries there. Naomi Watts and Michael Pitt (as Paul) are the backbone of this movie, and both give fantastic performances; Watts showing a wonderful depth of emotion, whereas Pitt is just plain scary. As for Tim Roth, I could watch the man play chess and be impressed with his performance. Here his role is vital yet he seems happy to not be the point of focus of our viewing, still he plays the part of the father superbly. The last two central characters, Georgie and Peter, played by Devon Gearhart and Brady Corbet, are also superbly brought to life by the actors. Quite wonderful acting all around, I must say.
Now, I will warn you that, although this has a few fairly well known faces in it, don’t expect this movie to pander to mainstream stylings. In places it is slow going, almost painfully so, there’s no bloody special effects in fact the majority of the violence takes place just out of sight. There’s also no real score or soundtrack so to speak; any music that is played during the movie is from a car stereo or a CD player. All of this however help the movie no end, as the resulting atmosphere throughout is terrific.
I really thought that Funny Games was a quite terrific movie, and deserves far more exposure than it has as yet received. Movies such as The Strangers (review), which to a degree is similarly themed, get a nationwide theatrical release, whereas this slinks almost silently on to DVD via a limited theatrical release. Now that IS funny.
Funny Games is definitely worth your time.
Watch the Funny Games trailer:
Popularity: 19% [?]
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