Bowdlerized, yet baleful.
Terrifying yes, but gut-wrenching, no. Almost all of the violence takes place off-stage, as with the classic ekkyklema of Greek theatre. For a critique of violence I wouldn’t expect anything less I suppose. Dramatic asides are used throughout which really detract from the action, yes, it is supposed to be a nod to the classic form, but, really, we aren’t at the Globe Theater anymore, can we skip the little asides please, what do you think? Maybe if the asides were more interesting instead of contrite musings it would have increased the drama instead of detracting from it.
The acting is explosive and intrepid where needed, Peter (Brady Corbett) and Paul (Michael Pitt) delivered disturbingly accurate portrayals of puerile monsters. Missing I felt was the female touch, no demented Mary to play off of Peter and Paul. This is a more terrible violent film than The Strangers, which I really disliked, enough not to even warrant a write up on irate. Not that I would have given it 1 star, probably 2, but I was just so disappointed by the overall buildup and let down. I was expecting so much more from that film, but – – – let me rewind.
Funny Games was originally a German film stabbing at the media’s obsession with violence, but, this is not a mainstream Hollywood film, it is an indie flick – and anything typically goes. There were some poor choices I felt director Michael Haneke made regarding his characters’ reactions; absent were the expected screams of a family tortured by the very seeds of angst. There were several scenes where I was practically shouting at the screen, oh come on, that is NOT the way these characters would be acting given the horror of witnessing what their tortured souls would never be able to forget. One thing I know for sure, my Marine Corps friends will be screaming at the screen in utter disbelief at the apathy and ineptness of a certain character.
I did find the use of extreme lucidity and philosophical meanderings interesting, but so tacked on at the end that I really think the director missed getting the point delivered quickly – if there was a point. The politeness factor had a kind of evil Heckle and Jeckle effect with each delivery that added to the suspense at times, but it was overdone in some places and never explained in earnest. The why is not important to the story-teller, but the struggle between the ego and super-ego – really, the freedom to be invincible.
Don’t rent this one if you have a weak stomach, do rent this one if you felt let down by The Strangers. And on an aside of my own, if I ever meet that friggin Michael Pitt guy, I think I would have to choke him into submission just to be on the safe-side. Just to establish alpha-male dominance right up front, because that kid seems to relish playing the deranged a little too much for my taste, and demons have a way of slipping into the thickest of psyches. What do you think?
