Directed by:
Michael HanekeScreenplay:
Michael HanekeCinematography:
Darius KhondjiCast:
Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt, Brady Corbet, Devon Gearhart, Boyd Gaines, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Robert LuPone, Linda MoranPlots(1)
Arriving at their remote lakeside holiday home, a middle-class family are alarmed by the unexpected arrival of two young men who soon begin to subject them to a twisted and horrifying ordeal of terror. With characteristic mastery, Michael Haneke turns the conventions of the thriller genre upside down and directly challenges the expectations of his audience, forcing viewers to question the complacency with which they receive images of casual violence in contemporary cinema. (Artificial Eye)
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Reviews (9)
Masterfully arranged psychological terror without music, with a static camera and a minimum of editing. Disturbing, cheeky, ruthless, haughty, scary, unpleasant. Michael Haneke is a directing genius and maybe a bit of a devil. I was glued to my seat from the first minute to the last. The only things that somewhat spoiled my overall impression of the film were the “remote control” scene and winking at the camera, as the director too ostentatiously and, above all unnecessarily, emphasizes the know-how on which he based his work. Why disrupt an intense and original thriller with the “film experiment” label? Nevertheless, Funny Games remains a rebellious, brilliantly cast masterpiece, which, after composing my thoughts, I’m giving a full five-star rating.
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Michael Haneke made a good film and he knew it had to be a good film. There's excellent psychological play here; it's immensely depressing, and the scene with the remote control enhances the feeling that there's no escape. This is the strongest aspect of the film. But it's also just a rehash of what he's already done. And with the new version, it didn't add anything extra to it. He just got it overseas to a wider audience.
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A few good ideas and an appropriately chilling premise, both carefully walled in by self-indulgence. Unexpected winks at the viewer are not a bad idea, but they destroy the built-up atmosphere of unpredictability and absolute fear. And is it satire? If so, then why does Michael Haneke present disturbing scenes and make the heroes suffer physically and mentally in shots lasting several minutes? This unbearably artificial "depth" is just a self-absorbed means to attract attention. Attention from a decent portion of viewers who will enthusiastically talk about a psychologically tense thriller, which actually isn't at all. I don't question anyone's taste, but a film that can literally destroy its story with a bizarre trick involving a remote control and a desperately mundane ending is not worth closer attention from me.
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Again, I was expecting something different, but you can't expect the kind of exploitation we're used to from the director of The White Ribbon or The Piano Teacher. Once again Haneke revels in a study of psychological terror, albeit more primitive than is his wont, because it's still built on good old-fashioned ultraviolence. He's lucky, though, because he's able to lean on the fantastic acting of everyone involved (Michael Pitt at the castle, not to mention Naomi Watts' once again bravura suffering). As long as the banter and tension between the characters is almost unbearable, everything is great. For me, the problem arises when the director's masturbation-type ten-minute shot after the young men leave is unpacked in front of me. That's what I just don't appreciate. And while the interpretation of the scenes where one of the characters addresses the viewer can be whatever, I found it rather out of context. I’m adding a star for the boat scene. If the whole film was in that vein, there's no debate.
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My second Michael Haneke film after The White Ribbon. I find it unnecessary to rate or comment further on the script and direction, as both are on such a monumental and professional level that any rating I give would be insufficient. :) What I am able to somewhat describe are the feelings I had while watching this film. I think what struck me the most was both the physical and mental degradation of Naomi Watts’ character (when I think of how she looked at the beginning and compare it to the final half hour, it still makes my heart sink). From the very first moment the plot begins to focus on those two monsters and their, to me personally, incomprehensible and unimaginably disgusting practices, I had a very hard time stomaching it. But what amazed me the most was the dialogue between "those two", which occasionally made me laugh for reasons I am unable to discern (maybe pity, absurdity, or despair over the future fate of the family, I don't know...). In any case, Michael Haneke has my deepest admiration for this work, and I have been a fool to ignore him and thus his work until now. The choice of actors is impeccable.
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