With Surreal Madness, Strange Boys Play ‘Funny Games’

HollywoodChicago.com — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 16:57:32 -0700

CHICAGO – Imagine a film with no redeeming or uplifting emotional qualities with evil that tortures the soul, squirm-inducing narrative elements and a relentless anxiety that practically has us – like the characters in the film – screaming for mercy. Imagine also that this film is excellent.

“Funny Games” is a shot-by-shot remake of writer and director Michael Haneke’s 1997 Austrian film of the same name, which now features American actors and their presumed sensibilities.

Naomi Watts from “The Ring” is Ann: the 30-something matriarch of an upper-middle class American family who’s heading for their vacation home. Her husband, George (Tim Roth), and son, Georgie (Devon Gearhart), are accompanying her. As the family approaches the heavily gated development, a murky apprehension is in the air as familiar friends offer tentative greetings.

Click here to read Patrick McDonald’s full review
of “Funny Games” in our reviews section!

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Naomi Watts in “Funny Games”.
Photo credit: IMDb

Naomi Watts, Michael Pitt (middle) and Brady Corbet in “Funny Games”.
Photo credit: IMDb