House of Games

A successful, recently published, somewhat uptight Chicago psychiatrist (Lindsay Crouse) heads to the other side of tracks to confront a low-rent bookie (Joe Mantenga) in hopes that he will relinquish a despondent client's penny-ante gambling debt. Instead she becomes enamored with the swindler and begins to learn the art of the small con. David Mamet's directorial debut is a brilliant, tough-talking, cold-hearted con movie whose many angles make it always prime to revisit over and over again. Mantenga gives an excellent performance while deftly spinning the tongue twisting dialog and Crouse is also brilliant (something I didn't see my first time through) in a subtle, nuanced performance.