The Void and Neztra

You would think that with a title like Funny Games, this might be a fairly harmless little film, boring maybe, but unable to affect the viewer on any deep level. If you think that, you are playing right into the director's hands. That is pretty much the theme of this film - the audience playing into the director's hands.

This suspense thriller that morphs into so much more is about a sweet little family vacation that goes horribly wrong when two psychotic young men happen upon the family's cabin on a lake. And you are clued into this from the first five minutes when a cute little game of "name that opera composer" in the car turns into the name of the film, in bright red letters across the entire screen, with ear piercingly raw rock music (or noise if you are like me) screeching through your speakers.

Let's start with the pros:

1. The acting: Naomi Watts and Tim Roth are incredible in this film. Michael Pitt and Brady Cobert are creepy and in some ways, downright hilarious, but totally believable at the same time.
2. The interesting visual perspectives, pacing and, in some ways, radical departures from traditional film culture.

Cons:

1. The violence. I won't go into details for anyone who wants to actually watch this movie, but I will say that this film acheived what I am sure the director hoped it would: nausea. Keep in mind, the actual blood and gore in this film is surprisingly pretty tame. Especially compared to slasher/gore films of late. But what is more terrifying is the very realistic potential for violence in the two young men and their utter lack of a sense of normal moral code. It is terrifying in its plausability. I am assuming that this film was not meant so much to be a scary movie, but more of a comment on scary movies and the audiences that flock to needlessly violent films and have been so numbed to their affect that only the most radical threat of violence can get through the audience's hard shell.
2. The pacing. I know, I just got done saying that it was a pro. And in some ways it is, but, and again, I believe this was intentional, there are points in this film where you want to scream "get on with it!" at the screen.
3. The feeling I was left with when the film was over. Again, I am not going to ruin it for anyone who wants to watch the film, so I'll say no more.

All in all, I am having a really hard time rating this movie. For film buffs, I think this is a gem, but for the average viewing audience, it just isn't good entertainment and I can't recommend this to someone looking for a fun evening in with popcorn and friends. Bottom line - you've been warned - watch at your own risk.

For film buffs: 3.5 winks
For everyone else: 2.5 winks