Flashback: My #1 Film (1997)

★★★★★★★★★★All-Time Top 10★★★★★★★★★★

My movie watching life can be broken into two sections: "Pre-Game" and "Post-Game." Had I never seen it I wouldn't be reviewing movies today, or probably watching them that much at all. And you wouldn't be reading this right now. So, just how strong a year was it for film in 1997? Let's put it this way: The two movies The Game beat out for the top spot are ranked among my top ten all-time favorites.

I was a freshman in college when this film came out in September and when a group went to see it on opening night I missed out because of some ridiculous academic commitment I made earlier. I always regretted that and wondered what the atmosphere and reaction was in the theater when the big twist came at the end. Of course, as a home viewing experience its just as impactful, but I still haven't gotten over the wrong choice I made that night. On the bright side, I saved my manhood a little because no one was able to see I was fighting back tears by the end credits. There are some movies where it takes a couple of viewings to realize it's an all-time favorite. This isn't one of them. The second it concluded I thought it was one of the greatest motion pictures I'd ever seen. 12 years later the needle hasn't moved at all. I still feel the same exact way.

There are some days (okay, a lot of them) when I wish someone would give me the birthday present egocentric millionaire Nicholas Van Orton (a superb Michael Douglas) receives in David Fincher's master puzzlebox of a film. Sometimes I think I could sure use it and as crazy as this sounds whenever I'm feeling at my lowest this is the movie I always pop in. I find it inspiring and life affirming in a way most films that are intended to be aren't. It's a description you wouldn't normally associate with a dark Fincher thriller but helps explain why it carries such emotional power.

John Brancato and Michael Ferris' airtight script puts us through the wringer, making us speculate wildly on possible explanations and outcomes before the curtain is finally pulled back to reveal that, like the protagonist, we completely lost sight of the big picture. Fincher went on to become one of our most talented and respected filmmakers and after being critically drubbed and commercially ignored upon its release, The Game is now considered a classic in its genre. It always was to me. It's the only film in my Best of the Year series where I'm entitled to jump up and down and say "I told you so." There's maybe only one or two other movies I've seen in my life I feel as close to and while there are likely many more great films to come from Fincher, he won't be able to top this. No one will.

Other Contenders: The Ice Storm, Boogie Nights, Titanic, L.A. Confidential, Face/Off, Contact