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Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna, Mike Nussbaum, Lilia Skala, J.T. Walsh ... see more see more... , Ricky Jay , Willo Hausman , Karen Kohlhaas , Steve Goldstein , Jack Wallace , G. Roy Levin , Bob Lumbra , Andy Potok , Allen Soule , Ben Blakeman , Josh Conescu , William H. Macy , John Pritchett , Meshach Taylor , Johnny S.B. Willis , Scott Zigler , Rachel Cline , Roberta Magure , Julie Mendenhall , Paul Walsh , Patricia Wolff , Jaqueline dela Chaume , Steven Goldstein

In his directorial debut, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet creates a stylish cinematic puzzle of games within games, as con men are joined by a psychologist in creating the perfect caper.... read more read more... Dr. Margaret Ford (Lindsay Crouse), the writer of psychological self-help books, meets Mike (Joe Mantegna) as she attempts to help a patient who owes heavy gambling debts. When she herself is the victim of a con, she becomes intrigued by the psychological drama of the con game and joins in a complicated scam involving a suitcase of cash. Mamet directs his extremely complicated plot with skill and complete control until it is impossible to tell who is the con and who is the victim. The suspense builds to an amazing surprise ending which is both reasonable and believable but completely unpredictable. Crouse and Mantegna are outstanding as are all the supporting performances. Mamet and his cinematographer Juan Ruiz-Anchia create a visually stunning, compelling film that does justice to Mamet's superbly written screenplay ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

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79% liked it

5,759 ratings

Critics

96% liked it

24 critics

R, 1 hr. 42 min.

Directed by: David Mamet

Release Date: October 1, 1987

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DVD Release Date: December 19, 2000

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Stats: 467 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (467)

  • 76Majikat
    October 14, 2009
    76Majikat
    Cheesy, dated and more of a film made for tv, yet, there was something quite interesting about this film, that left me enjoying it.
  • pier007
    August 10, 2008
    pier007
    Lindsay Crouse is an eminent psychologist who is desperate for adventure. One day she'll meet Joe Mantegna's character, a swindler that will provide her a few tricks to reach a little excitement in her life. There will be, of course, a few bumps on their way.
    A tight and thoughtf... read moreul writing and direction along with Juan Ruiz Anchia's stylish photographic work, construct a rich and atmospheric hitchcockian tour de force with no room for gratuitousness, not even in Mamet's notorious use of coarse words. David Mamet's first and easily best film.
  • ceWEBrity
    January 18, 2008
    ceWEBrity
    Okay, so could Lindsay Crouse be any more awful? I know pretty much everyone hates her in this movie but Jesus Christ, that was a dull performance. I don't know if she was attempting sociopathy by way of emotional stunting, but what she really accomplished was sheer tedium. Joe M... read moreantegna wasn't too much better, playing some unctuous cipher for the real star of the movie - the con.

    Mamet's a pretty damn good writer, lack of range and self-indulgent style notwithstanding, and here he has developed a screenplay that starts out riveting but becomes predictable and floppy. I had the entire half hour of the movie mapped out before it even started; how's that for a disappointing ending? I think we can blame Lindsay Crouse for that too. God, she was bad. But yeah, the first and most of the second act are this great psychological clash between a woman and a man, both of whom make their living working out the human brain in very different ways. The cons themselves are a lot of fun to watch...just not that last one because you know what's coming. I don't know if it's a product of the movie's age or just straight-out simplicity, but it was a bust.

    Not a bad movie per se, but the payoff was a mess.
  • kenstachnik
    December 9, 2007
    kenstachnik
    Superb Con film from David Mamet.
  • DrZeek
    September 21, 2007
    DrZeek
    Mike: It's called a confidence game. Why? Because you give me your confidence? No. Because I give you mine.

    The directorial debut of playwright David Mamet. While in the same year he wrote the screenplay for The Untouchables, which seemed very un-Mamet, this film has all the thi... read morengs that ring true for a work by Mamet. Namely the dialog.

    It is all very snappy, to the point without saying the exact meaning of things, quippy without sounding to out of place or over the heads of most.

    The story is similar to other Mamet thrillers, it involves con men who are good at what they do, speak with ease, and curse up a storm.

    Joe Mantegna stars as an ace con man, who is admired by a Psychotherapist coming off a bestselling book about addiction. Soon she is emersed in the world the world of these con men.

    Mike: What I'm talking about comes down to a more basic philosophical principle: Don't trust nobody.

    If you've seen enough con men movies, then the story is not to surprising, but what works is the noir like style, the dialog rhythms, and the actors capability of handling that dialog.

    Prison Ward Patient: Y'know, I know there are people who are normal.
    Dr. Margaret Ford: Are there?
    Patient: Yes, there are. But...
    Dr. Margaret Ford: But what?
    Patient: But I don't know what those people do.
  • YLOWBSTARDreturns
    September 9, 2007
    YLOWBSTARDreturns
    Mamet's best work to date as a director.
  • YosemiteSamFan
    September 4, 2007
    YosemiteSamFan
    Superb con-game movie. Lindsay Crouse is mesmerizing to watch as the con-woman learning from the seasoned con-man Joe Mantegna. It's an engaging plot with some interesting developments. I was captivated throughout.
  • Fascade518
    May 18, 2011
    Fascade518
    A real "pop corn muncher" of a movie...a true classic that holds onto your attention long before you realize that you...have been conned...LOL! A psychologist assists a suicidal patient a wee bit too far before she realizes that she too, is in too deep. See this flick it is an ey... read moree opening winner!
  • DocHalister
    February 4, 2012
    DocHalister
    Suspenseful, well-acted. A psychologist (Lindsay Crouse), who has almost no private life, is told by one of her new patients that he's in grave danger because he just incurred a $25,000 gambling debt he can't honor. She is induced to help him by confronting the man to whom the ... read moredebt is owned (Mike, played by Joe Mantegna). Mike and his pals try to con her out of some money but with her psychological expertise she detects it, and tells them so. Rather than exposing them though she insists on becoming an observing silent partner to their scams. She also grows attracted to the slick Mike. What follows is a whole series of events with their own hard-to-guess logic, and we're continually left wondering "who's conning whom NOW?" Director co-writer Mamet is of course a playwright, and so this has a stagey feel to it...I would indeed like to see it adapted to the stage. This can be compared to The Sting for its cleverness, but there's a big difference in "feeling tone"--The Sting was rather light-hearted at times...we smile at some of the revelations. House of Games is resolutely a serious suspense film; we even sometimes fear it will take a very dark turn indeed.
  • fb20312798
    October 4, 2008
    fb20312798
    Whether or not you can see the big twist coming isn't the point in my opinion. In a con movie you can never take anything at face value. What I actually really liked was that even though I wasn't necessarily surprised by what happened, the scenes that follow it and the implicatio... read morens of the ending are what the movie is really about. Plus, I have always had a soft spot for Mamet's dialogue which always drives his movies.

View All House of Games Reviews

Critic Reviews

Pablo Villaca
January 5, 2008
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena

O roteiro é mais previsível do que Mamet desejaria e seu primeiro trabalho na direção exibe uma teatralidade que ele gradualmente superaria, mas, apesar disso, a complexidade de seus personagens e a d...

Kam Williams
August 24, 2007
Kam Williams, NewsBlaze

Since it would be unfair to spoil a moment of this perfectly-plotted masterpiece, all you need to know is that it landed on this critic's Best Movies of the Millennium List in 2000. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
December 6, 2006
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

A conceptual film about con artists, Mamet's feature debut is a deadpan, deviously comic melodrama that proceeds with twists and reversals and builds like a poker game in which the stakes are higher a... Full Review

Rich Cline
February 7, 2005
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall

fiendishly clever

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
August 27, 2004
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

A top-notch psychological thriller about sexual politics, trust and betrayal. Full Review

Jon Niccum
January 9, 2004
Jon Niccum, Lawrence Journal-World

The best of the con game movies

James Rocchi
November 7, 2002
James Rocchi, Netflix

Playwright David Mamet's directorial debut is a cardsharp con game full of tricks. Full Review

Scott Weinberg
July 25, 2002
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

One of the finest Mamet adaptations out there.

Dennis Schwartz
July 11, 2002
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

What intrigues is the con games themselves, as Mamet's film explores with a certain joyous streak of mischief some of the tricks of the trade. Full Review

John J. Puccio
January 1, 2000
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis

...will keep you on your toes and guessing from beginning to end.

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House of Games Trivia

  • This con film involves a psychologist, poker, murders and a squirt gun. It was directed by a writer famous for his dialogue.  Answer »
  • At the end of the movie "SHAUN OF THE DEAD", what did Shaun did to his friend Ed?  Answer »
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