Michael Douglas is very strong in this taut 1997 thriller from Se7en director David Fincher.
Douglas plays Nicholas Van Orton, a selfish, self-obsessed investment banker, who's tormented by the memory of his father's suicide. When Nicholas's younger brother Conrad (Sean Penn) is released from rehab clinic, he gives his elder sibling an unusual present - a gift certificate from a specialised company, who claim to devise devilish games for its wealthy clients.
Before too long, Nicholas's life begins to fall apart: the world seems to be conspiring against him as dirty dealings, drugs, hidden cameras and even dying people make an unwelcome appearance in his previously successful routine. Nicholas realises that this is all part of the game and that the only way to win is to work out exactly what the object of it all is.
Highly recommended.
The Game is a Film programme that first aired in 1997 and has been classified a 15 certificate.
