The Game, David Fincher’s 1997 Michael Douglas thriller, lands on Peacock

David Fincher’s 1997 thriller The Game is currently streaming on Peacock. Its recent induction into the Criterion Collection has helped raise the film’s profile even as it remains an underrated entry in Fincher’s catalog. Long under the radar in the streaming era, The Game is often considered one of Fincher’s early successes — arguably second only to Seven — and the piece notes it made more money than Fight Club and was better received than Alien 3.

Michael Douglas stars as wealthy banker Nicholas Van Orton, who on his 48th birthday receives a gift certificate from his younger brother Conrad (Sean Penn) for an immersive role-playing experience run by Consumer Recreation Services. After appearing to fail the company’s screening, Van Orton is subjected to escalating paranoia: surveillance, violent attacks, and apparent looting of his fortune, while a seemingly helpful waitress (Deborah Kara Unger) may be part of the scheme.

The film includes suicidal ideation as a major plot point. Stylistically The Game reads as a Hitchcockian, time-specific thriller rather than the grunge-tinged aesthetic of Seven or Fight Club, and it’s described as Fincher’s least violent ’90s film. According to a 2014 interview cited in the piece, Fincher said he felt he didn’t quite find the right final act and credited his wife and producing partner for warning him against doing the movie.

The Game is one of two Fincher films in the Criterion Collection.

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