Deception and double-crosses trump any Christmas miracles in this twisty-turny heist thriller, one of the final films of director John Frankenheimer. “Reindeer Games” follows Rudy Duncan (Ben Affleck), a convict who impersonates his slain cellmate upon being released from prison in the hopes of getting lucky with the dead man’s gorgeous pen pal (Charlize Theron); after some hot post-prison sex in a run-down Michigan hotel room, the two lovers get entangled in the plans of her psycho brother (Gary Sinise), who’s looking to pull off a dangerous casino heist on Christmas Eve — and who, of course, thinks that Rudy is actually the criminal mastermind his sister’s been writing to for months. Lies and treachery beget tragedy in this wintry morality tale that features a supporting cast of genre veteran character actors, including Isaac Hayes, Dennis Farina, Danny Trejo and Clarence Williams III; Vin Diesel was originally cast in an unspecified role but was fired during pre-production due to allegedly making too many demands regarding his character. – IFC Staff
Reindeer Games
