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Unlike other Spike Lee
films, Game exemplifies the effectiveness of simplicity and
universality. The plot is straightforward. Jake Shuttlesworth (Denzel
Washington) is a convict serving time at Attica who is promised an
early parole if he can persuade his basketball phenom son, Jesus
[pronounced Jee-zus] (Ray Allen), to sign a letter of intent with the
governor’s alma mater, Big State University. Arrangements are made
for Jake to leave prison, albeit strapped to a radio transmitter, to
accomplish the job within seven days. Not such an easy job since Jake
is in prison for killing Jesus’ mother. Understandably, Jesus wants
nothing to do with his father.
Game opens with a mosaic of people
playing basketball, a game of universal appeal that crosses man’s artificial lines of
difference. As the plot develops, we see a myriad of relationships - father/son,
boyfriend/girlfriend, brother/sister, player/coach, posse/athlete, agent/prospective
client - all with varying levels of conflict to which anyone can relate. What’s more,
the characters in Game do not merely share a screen as in other Spike Lee films, but
actually have a relevant connection. At times, the characters seem almost allegorical.
Significantly, the relationships are the vessels through which Lee depicts the pressures
and ethical dilemmas inherent in the most important decision in Jesus’ life.
As Game develops, you’ll discern a common characteristic descriptive of the
relationships: egoistical. Seemingly, everyone’s actions are motivated by what’s
best for Jesus, yet there’s a certain level of distrust among the characters and not
coincidentally, everyone stands to gain something from his success. It
is disappointing, however, that the interaction between Jesus and Jake was so predictable.
Their interface and the conflict between them is the essence of the film, but there are no
twists. Jesus hates his father who was an overbearing tyrant before his imprisonment. Jake
is now repentant and wants to be the father he never was to Jesus. What’s so novel
about that? Nothing and that’s a problem. It would have been more effective if Jake
and Jesus were allowed to operate outside the arbitrary boundaries set by Lee.
Relationships aside, Denzel Washington does an exceptional job of portraying Jake.
He’s convincing and displays a facility with the material that makes him easy to
watch. With Ray Allen, on the other hand, hang your head the way a parent does in response
to a child’s royal screw-up of his/her lines in the school play. Granted, Allen is a
pro basketball player in real life and not an actor. Maybe that explains why he
monotonously and rather unemotionally delivered his lines as opposed to feeling
the character.
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