A psychiatrist (played by Lindsey Crouse) gets involved with a group of conmen (led by Joe Mantegna) and is both conned and entranced by them.
The first time watching this film was very enjoyable. The plot clicks along quickly with very little time wasted and by the time you get to the climax (and even the anti climax), you feel like mentally swiping your brow and going "whew! That was some ride!" However, I would argue the movie doesn't stand up to repeat viewing as well. It's still fun to watch the intricate web of deceit woven around Crouse's uptight character but you recognize that there's a few things that don't really make sense.
For example, Crouse's character goes from trembling at the thought of being partially responsible for someone's death to cold-bloodedly shooting Mantegna's character. I get that she was angry and felt betrayed (who wouldn't) but it felt like a good screenwriter's plot twist rather than emerging from our understanding of who this woman is. Also, Mantegna's character is a snake of a human being without honor. Why wouldn't he beg for his life and then wait for another opportunity to stick it to the psycho psychiatrist? Instead, he invites her to shoot him by spitting and swearing at her. It's a powerful scene but, again, it doesn't feel like the character talking.
But these reflections didn't dampen my enjoyment of the movie. It's still an interesting, dark, noirish exploration of human motivation and our tendency to misplace trust.
P. S. Lindsey Crouse, some years later, guest stars on an episode of Columbo. I was struck with the similarities between her character in House of Games and her character on that series. Some of the events that play out remind me of this movie as well.
The first time watching this film was very enjoyable. The plot clicks along quickly with very little time wasted and by the time you get to the climax (and even the anti climax), you feel like mentally swiping your brow and going "whew! That was some ride!" However, I would argue the movie doesn't stand up to repeat viewing as well. It's still fun to watch the intricate web of deceit woven around Crouse's uptight character but you recognize that there's a few things that don't really make sense.
For example, Crouse's character goes from trembling at the thought of being partially responsible for someone's death to cold-bloodedly shooting Mantegna's character. I get that she was angry and felt betrayed (who wouldn't) but it felt like a good screenwriter's plot twist rather than emerging from our understanding of who this woman is. Also, Mantegna's character is a snake of a human being without honor. Why wouldn't he beg for his life and then wait for another opportunity to stick it to the psycho psychiatrist? Instead, he invites her to shoot him by spitting and swearing at her. It's a powerful scene but, again, it doesn't feel like the character talking.
But these reflections didn't dampen my enjoyment of the movie. It's still an interesting, dark, noirish exploration of human motivation and our tendency to misplace trust.
P. S. Lindsey Crouse, some years later, guest stars on an episode of Columbo. I was struck with the similarities between her character in House of Games and her character on that series. Some of the events that play out remind me of this movie as well.
