Born in 1947 in Chicago, he was educated at Goddard College, in Vermont, and studied drama at New York's Nieghbourhood Playhouse, before returning to Chicago and establishing the St Nicholas Theatre Company in 1972. A taut, well plotted psychological suspense film with many twists and turns. David Mamet’s debut film was a welcome throwback to the primacy of character and careful story construction, at a time when narrative intricacy was in short supply on American movie screens. View production, box office, & company info. The wacky incongruity works when debuting director Mamet has tongue in cheek. But House of Games clearly demonstrates his talent in cinema. discuss David Mamet's House of Games. While Mike is in the bathroom, she takes a small pocket knife from the table, believing that it belongs to the man who rented the room. Shoe-shiner Gino is hired to take the rap for a mafia murder. Synopsis: A famous psychologist, Margaret Ford, decides to try to help one of her patients get out of a gambling debt. Add the first question. Mike begins to enchant Margaret by showing her several simple tricks. The investigation into a kidnapping of the daughter of a high-ranking US government official. She also learns that the pocket knife she stole from the hotel room belongs to Mike. A psychiatrist comes to the aid of a compulsive gambler and is led by a smooth-talking grifter into the shadowy but compelling world of stings, scams, and con men. The experience has excited her, however, and she returns the next night to request that Mike teach her about cons so that she can write a book about the experience. What seems easy to her becomes much more complex. House of Games David Mamet's 1987 directorial debut was this mesmerizing study of control and seduction between two kinds of detached observers: a gambler who is also a con artist, and a psychotherapist who is also an emerging pop-psych guru in the book market. He also wrote the screenplay, based on a story he co-wrote with Jonathan Katz. Jay also appeared in Mamet films such as "House of Games," ''State and Main" and "Heist." The film's cast includes Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna, Ricky Jay, and J. T. Walsh. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. [9][10], "Mamet Makes A Debut With 'House Of Games, The Criterion Collection: House of Games by David Mamet, Roger Ebert's "Great Movies – House of Games", London Film Critics' Circle Award for Film of the Year, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=House_of_Games&oldid=1009557226, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 1 March 2021, at 05:02. A fateful event leads to a job in the film business for top mixed-martial arts instructor Mike Terry. He says that he cannot return her money because it has already been divided. In 1987, nothing else looked or sounded quite like House of Games. When Mike curses her, she shoots him five more times, killing him. The film's cast includes Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna, Ricky Jay, and J. T. Walsh. "Mr. Mamet, poker player and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, makes a fine, completely self-assured debut directing his original screenplay. When a student visits her professor to discuss how she failed his course, the discussion takes an awkward turn. Find House Of Games by Mamet, David at Biblio. Margaret finally offers to give Mike $80,000 of her own money so he can pay back the mob. See the fabulous presenters and gracious winners at this year's Oscars. She discloses this to Mike, who calls the bluff. A famous psychologist, Margaret Ford, decides to try to help one of her patients get out of a gambling debt. Check out the full list of winners. John J. Magee . 3 of 3 people found this review helpful. Two-bit gangster Jerry watches over Gino and gives him a weekend to remember. "[6] It holds a 96% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. House of Games (1987): House of Games follows a psychologist who interferes with one of her patient's lives, as she attempts to help him out of gambling debt. Margaret Ford is a psychiatrist who has achieved success with her recently published book about OCD, but who feels unfulfilled. In 1999 he directed The Winslow Boy, which he had adapted from a play by Terence Rattigan. House of Games. Later, Margaret is shown just returned from a vacation, having moved on from the ordeal. She tracks him to a bar, where she spies on Mike and the entire group, including the man whose hotel room they stole, and the undercover policeman, discussing how the preceding events were a scheme to con her out of $80,000. 1974) was made into the film About Last Night (1986), and he has since become one of the film industry's most respected writers and directors, achieving a critical as well as popular acclaim for films including House of Games (1987)." 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