top of page

'House of Games': David Mamet's Quintessential 80's-Era Treatise on the Art of the Con

  • Writer: James Rutherford
    James Rutherford
  • Jul 11, 2019
  • 1 min read

Updated: Apr 3, 2021


Movie poster for the film House of Games starring Lindsay Crouse and Joe Mantegna

“House of Games” (1987) is a superb psychological drama about a psychiatrist and author named Margaret Ford (Lindsay Crouse) who is confronted with a dilemma when one of her patients threatens suicide over outstanding debts to a criminal named Mike (Joe Mantegna).


Promising to be of assistance, Margaret confronts the shadowy Mike herself, only to be given a promise of forgiveness if she assists in a bluff involving a high-stakes poker game. Margaret’s curiosity and involvement quickly escalate as she’s taken under Mike's wing as a burgeoning con artist herself, learning the tricks of the trade from a seasoned professional—leading her down a dark path of deceit toward a conclusion of stunning and electrifying finality.


Written and directed by Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet ("Things Change", "Glengarry Glen Ross"), “House of Games” is a quintessential treatise on the art of the con and the psychological foreplay inherent in such high-stakes games of deception. It's wildly inventive, superbly crafted and altogether quintessential Mamet, in his first foray behind the director's chair after years of stage and screenwriting. Top-notch 80’s-era entertainment every step of the way.

View the trailer:


Comments


©2018 BY BROOKLYN FILM FANATIC

Subscribe for Updates

Brooklyn, New York, United States of America

Questions, Ideas, Requests: brooklynfilmfanatic@gmail.com

© Brooklyn Film Fanatic, 2018 All Rights Reserved

bottom of page