House of Games (1987)
Recently released by the Criterion Collection, #71 in my 2007 movie challenge was David Mamet’s directorial debut, House of Games. Joe Mantegna is arresting in his first starring role, and it’s easy to see why Lindsay Crouse’s character was drawn to him. (Crouse was married to Mamet at the time. I am more familiar with her as the psych. prof. from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) Crouse is a therapist with a patient who says he owes thousands of dollars. Crouse promises to try to help him, and gets drawn to a group of grifters. It’s a twisty, noir movie that turns some of the conventions upside down. Crouse is more the innocent bystander than the femme fatale. That role is filled more by Mantegna. The end is also not typical of noir; Crouse is not crushed by either the city or by crime. The transfer on the Criterion print is lovely. Crouse’s hair and wardrobe, though, are laughably typical of the 80’s, reminding me of Patrick Nagel prints and shoulder-padded power suits.