Funny Games (DVD)

Spoilers!

Already dividing movie critics and general audiences alike, "Funny Games" is destined to go down as 2008's most controversial film. An original suspense thriller? Yes. Necessary or welcomed? Not by a long shot. Michael Haneke shows once again that he is a master of taut suspense; Naomi Watts and Tim Roth show once again that they are among the best actors working today; and Michael Pitt and Brady Corbett are immensely creepy as two terrorizing young men. Unfortunately, it doesn't add up to much except a big FU from the director to the audience. The movie can be summed up by it's first three minutes. We see the Farber family (Tim Roth as George, Naomi Watts as his wife, Ann, and Devon Gearhart as his son, Georgie) driving down to their vacation home. The cinematography is beautiful when suddenly the music changes from peaceful classical to unbearable death metal. It's symbolism for what's to come.

The family is taken hostage by Pitt and Corbett, who decide to include them in their sick mind games and end up killing them off one by one. Now for a while, I thought I was going to end up liking this movie, but in the final act it completely collapses. That's putting it lightly. It's actually some of the worst final 30 minutes I've ever seen in a film. It's one thing for a director to want to make his audience uncomfortable, but it's another to arrogantly rub it in their faces. As far as a movie experience goes, Haneke is just like the two antagonist and we the viewers are hoping against hope that things will turn out okay.

I wouldn't classify this movie as torture porn at all. Heck, there's not even much violence in it. All of it takes places off screen. My problem is how these characters are so unfairly treated and it's really just a slap in the face how Haneke disrepectively manipulates his audience. It's a depressing experience and I wish it would have just told a story and been an intriguing psychological study like 2005's "Cache". "Funny Games" could have worked as a normal 90-minute suspense thriller, but instead it's a grueling 112-minute experience that punishes every gullible individual who gives it a chance. Don't say I didn't warn you.

D