Storyline
In honor of his birthday, San Francisco banker Nicholas Van Orton, a financial genius and a coldhearted loner, receives an unusual present from his younger brother, Conrad -- a gift certificate to play a unique kind of game. In nearly a nanosecond, Nicholas finds himself consumed by a dangerous set of ever-changing rules, unable to distinguish where the charade ends and reality begins.
Directors
Writers
Cast
Bob Stephenson, Hideo Kimura, Tommy Flanagan, Spike Jonze, Harrison Young, Christopher John Fields, George Maguire, Owen Masterson, James Rebhorn, John Cassini, Harris Savides, Mark Boone Junior, Sean Penn, Michael Douglas, Michael Massee, Gerry Becker, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Deborah Kara Unger, Carroll Baker, John Hammil, Anna Katarina, Trish Summerville, Rachel Flanagan, Victor Talmadge, Yuji Okumoto, Jarion Monroe, Kimberly Russell, Jack Kehoe, John Aprea, Peter Donat, Charles Martinet, Caroline Barclay, Scott Hunter McGuire, Elizabeth Dennehy, Daniel Schorr, Florentine Mocanu, Joe Frank, Kat Kilkenny, Keena Turner, Joy Ann Ryan, Linda Manz, Duffy Gaver, Rachel Steinberg, Jason Kristofer, Lily Soh Froehlich, Charles Branklyn
Trailer
Reviews
88
Chicago Sun-Times
The movie's thriller elements are given an additional gloss by the skill of the technical credits, and the wicked wit of the dialogue.
83
An intensely exciting puzzle-gimmick thriller, the kind of movie that lets you know from the start that it's slyly aware of its own absurdity.
80
It's formulaic, yet edgy. It's predictable, yet full of surprises. How far you get through this tall tale of a thriller before you give up and howl is a matter of personal taste.
70
This is not a movie that can bear much postgame scrutiny. The minute you begin to question one element of the plot, gaping holes of logic appear throughout.
70
Variety
The film itself is limited by the material's nature as a brainy exercise and by its narrow focus; individual response will depend upon how tantalized one is by puzzles and games, as well as upon how off-putting one finds the central character, who is center-stage throughout.
