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 In cinemas Sep 11 [MA15+]
Director: Michael Haneke
Runtime: 108-minutes
In 1997, I saw Funny Games, a film by Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke. I remember being profoundly disturbed by this nihilistic, Brecht-ian story of a series of home invasions by two young men who torture and murder the families they encounter. A day or so after seeing the film, I read a comment by Haneke, who revealed that he was ‘testing’ his audience to see how far he could push them before they had had enough and walked out of the cinema – what did it mean that I sat through till the end of the credits? I’m still wondering the same thing after watching Haneke’s Hollywood version of the film.
Pivotal in the preproduction stages, Australian star Naomi Watts became an executive producer after Haneke made the remake conditional on her participation. Watts takes on the role of Ann (originally performed by Susanne Lothar), while Tim Roth plays her husband George, and Devon Gearhart completes the family unit as their son Georgie. The trio have driven to their summer house to christen their newly-restored sailboat. But things quickly take a disturbing turn, when two strange young men garbed in immaculate white – Paul (Michael Pitt) and Peter (Brady Corbet) – arrive asking for a couple of eggs.
It soon emerges that they’re up to violent mischief, and the family dog is their first victim, with George’s knee cap following in quick succession. Much to the family’s horror, there is little logic to the mayhem – they’re simply pawns in a game that Peter and Paul are reluctant or unable to explain; as Paul looks directly into the camera and asks a question, the audience quickly realises that they are complicit in the bet that the boys make with Ann, George and Georgie – will they make it through the next twelve hours?
Haneke claims the remake has much to do with the fact that he wants to teach American audiences a lesson, and a remake – scene-for-scene or not – employing big name actors, rather than the relatively unknown players in the original version, would be the best way of bringing his commentary on violence and the media to a wider audience. I’m a cynical sod, however, and given the recent rise of torture porn genre flicks like the Saw and Hostel franchises, I’m more inclined to believe that Funny Games [Redux] strikes me as a disingenuous attempt to take advantage of a new public appetite.
With that in mind, I suggest you take Haneke at his word, and walk out when the violence becomes too much to bear – just make sure you ask for your money back so he’ll get the message!
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TIM MILFULL
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