Funny Games (2007)

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Premise: The young Farber family are visited by two sadistic young men playing violent games on Long Island.

Stars: Tim Roth * Naomi Watts * Michael Pitt * Brady Corbet

Story: A vacationing family - George Farber (Roth), his wife Ann (Watts) and their young son - visit their cottage on Long Island. They see their neighbors, the Thompsons, and a pair of young men that are unfamiliar. Later, the two young men (Pitt and Corbet) - using various aliases such as Peter & Paul and Tom & Jerry - pay a visit to the Farbers claiming they've been sent over by the Thompsons.

Very quickly, they start playing mental games with the Farbers by accidentally ruining a cell phone and being unsubtly rude. They ditch the facade and begin terrorizing the family, but are playful and attempt to be witty throughout the mental and psychological abuse. Young Georgie temporarily escapes, but is caught and brought back after discovering that the Thompsons are dead. Later, the pair pretend they have left and when George tries to contact the police and Ann runs for help, they catch her and return to the home.

Ann manages to kill one of the young men, but the fourth wall is broken and the young men return to the scene moments before, preventing her from doing so. They kill George as a consequence, and then take her sailing the following morning. They throw her into the water to drown and then pay a visit to another neighbour, following their m.o. of asking for eggs.

Review: The film is engrossing, allowing the viewer to believe that at given moments, the family may actually succeed in escaping from the two young men. However, this seems to represent a "funny game" that the two are having with the viewer, as Peter and Paul break the fourth wall to prevent a more optimistic outcome.

However, the film does present the two getting away with actions that they should not - the capture of Ann towards the end, in particular - so it defies logic and disbelief. As a result the film can't be viewed as anything but an exercise by the director in getting the audience's goat. The art in the film is similar to that of the torture porn genre, in that the kicks of the film seem to be that of ruining any possible enjoyment by the audience.

Overall: Good, but caveat emptor.