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Dominic Corry

Saturday May 9 at 10.25pm

Reindeer Games

Cast: Ben Affleck, Gary Sinise, Charlize Theron, Dennis Farina, Danny Trejo and Clarence Williams III

Director: John Frankenheimer

Ben Affleck, Gary Sinise and Charlize Theron star in this superior thriller from one of the undisputed masters of genre, the late John Frankenheimer.

Affleck plays Rudy Duncan, an about to be released from jail small-time con who has listened for years as his cellmate Nick (Brit actor James Frain) went on and on about his hot pen pal girlfriend Ashley (Theron) waiting for him on the outside.

Nick and Rudy are due to be released on the same day, but the day before, Nick is shivved in the mess hall and killed. Upon his release, Rudy sees Ashley, and taken by her hotness, finds himself pretending to be Nick - Ashley doesn't know what Nick looks like you see.

But it turns out Ashley runs with a rough crowd lead by her brother Gabriel (Sinise, in fine nasty form), and they have plans to run a heist on a casino using the knowledge "Nick" gained when he worked there.

Now Rudy is caught up in an ever-escalating series of criminal shenanigans.

Affleck has had a ban run lately, PR-wise, and he cops a lot of flack, but I for one think he's really good in this role. He does beleaguered well, and boy is his character beleaguered in this film. Theron does well as his white-trash girlfriend, and Sinise is particularly fun as a particularly sadistic character. Some cool character actors like Dennis Farina (Midnight Run), Danny Trejo (Desperado) and Clarence Williams III (Linc in the The Mod Squad) are all welcomes presences aswell.

Master director John Frankenheimer (Ronin, The Manchurian Candidate), who died in 2002 from complications following spinal surgery, does a superior job here. There is some delicious black humour in the film, which is notably brutal for mainstream Hollywood output.

Reindeer Games got a tough time from critics, but I for one think its one of the most enjoyable thrillers of recent years.

 

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