House of Games is David Mamet's 1987 motion picture directorial debut. It is a film of many plot twists. Mamet wrote the screenplay himself, from a story he devised with Jonathan Katz. The film's cast includes Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna, Ricky Jay, and J.T. Walsh.
Plot
Margaret Ford (Crouse) is a psychiatrist. She has published a book, Driven: Compulsion and Obsession in Everyday Life, which has made her financially well-off. One day, she's in a session with Billy, a compulsive gambler who informs her that his life is in danger. He owes $25,000 to a criminal figure — money he doesn't have — and if he doesn't pay, he will be killed.
Margaret visits a pool hall and bar called the House of Games and confronts the man Billy owes, Mike (Mantegna). After a brief conversation, Margaret sizes Mike up as a tough talker, but not a violent gangster. Mike reveals that Billy's debt is only eight hundred dollars and agrees to forgive the debt if Margaret accompanies him to a high-stakes poker game as his girlfriend, using her to help spot the tell of another gambler (Jay).
Exhilarated at the chance to take part, Margaret even volunteers $6,000 of her own money to back up Mike's bet because she’s spotted the tell that Mike’s opponent is bluffing. Things go wrong. Not only does the player have a winning hand, he also brandishes a gun, demanding the $6,000 she promised as collateral. It is only when Margaret sees a drop of water fall from the pistol barrel that she realizes the whole setup is a con – designed strictly to take her money. Mike and his men see that the jig is up, and nonchalantly pack up the con. Mike apologizes, saying it was “only business … nothing personal.”
Back in her normal routine, Margaret continues to think about her night at the House of Games. She returns, proposing to Mike that she follow him around, learn the ins and outs of his world, perhaps write a book on the experience. Mike is skeptical but agrees. He shows her first-hand how a con game works. Her fascination grows. The pair end up going to a hotel room and making love.
Mike mentions that he has a role in another con that night. Margaret begs to tag along. Mike, his associate Joey (Mike Nussbaum), and their mark (Walsh) come upon a briefcase of money that someone seemed to have accidentally left on the street before getting into a cab. The three men go to the mark's hotel room to keep an eye on each other and discuss what to do with the cash.
Mike confides to Margaret that the $80,000 in cash is real, borrowed from the mob and due back the next day. The plan is to have the mark propose paying Mike and Joey a percentage in exchange for taking the briefcase, but then they will switch the case at the last minute.
The mark does as planned, but Margaret sees and hears what no one else does — that he has a gun on his belt, and that he is planning with others over a two-way radio to arrest the trio. Margaret warns Mike and Joey that the mark is a cop and it's a trap, and she is desperate not to get caught herself. A scuffle develops and the cop/mark is killed when his gun discharges. Mike makes a run for it with Joey and Margaret. They steal a car and escape. But the briefcase is nowhere to be found — it's been left behind in the commotion. Mike must leave the country fast because the mob will turn them all in for the murder if they fail to return the mob's money. Margaret, who has now fallen for Mike and fears for his safety, as well as her own, offers to replace the $80,000.
Overwhelmed by the experience, Margaret is visited by Billy, her patient, but is too distressed to have a session with him. By sheer chance, she spots Billy leaving and sees that his car is the very escape vehicle used during the hotel getaway. Margaret puts the pieces together. She spies on the con men--among whom is the "dead" cop/mark--and confirms that everything was a ruse to swindle her out of $80,000; making love to her, Mike says, was "a small price to pay."
Margaret has a gun (the gun she, ironically, took from Billy in their earlier session). She has overheard when Mike is leaving town and lies in wait for him at the airport. At first she puts on an act, pleading to travel with him with the additional $250,000 she says she has brought. Mike coaxes her into a deserted dock of the airport where they can be alone. When she misspeaks, Mike realizes that Margaret knows the score. He tells her there's nothing she can do about it and turns to leave. Margaret pulls out her gun and dares Mike to beg for his life. He refuses and she shoots him repeatedly until he dies.
Much later, we see that Margaret has gone on with her life, a changed woman, now able to "forgive herself." She shows no sign of guilt or remorse for murdering Mike. She steals a gold lighter out of the purse of another woman in a restaurant and relishes the acquisition.
Themes, Reaction
Mamet's stage output had long explored means of deception, especially amongst the dregs of society. It was filmed in Seattle, though the screenplay makes allusions to Mamet's native Chicago.
His transition to film was met with wide acclaim by both critics and film festival audiences[who?]. The praise the film garnered, coupled with Mamet's screenplay for the summer hit The Untouchables, allowed him to establish a power base in Hollywood. Drawing much of the praise was the film's stylized dialogue, the auteur's trademark Mametspeak seeming to act as a character itself[citation needed]. The film's plot twists were also praised for their ingenuity and invention[by whom?]; it is said by many fans of the film[who?] that first-time viewers should approach the film with as little prior knowledge as possible. The film is among many titles mentioned in Roger Ebert's "The Great Movies."
Cast
DVD
In August 2007, the Criterion Collection released a special edition of Mamet's film on DVD. Among the supplemental material included are an audio commentary with Mamet and Ricky Jay, new interviews with actors Lindsay Crouse and Joe Mantegna, and a short documentary shot on location during the film's production.[1]
Notes
- ^ The Criterion Collection: House of Games by David Mamet
External links
