Game 6

• Written by award-winning novelist Don DeLillo (WHITE NOISE, UNDERWORLD) and directed by Michael Hoffman (SOAPDISH, ONE FINE DAY), GAME 6 is a smart psychological study of a man unable to face the reality of his life. Michael Keaton stars as Nickey Rogan, a successful playwright of Broadway fluff whose new, serious play is scheduled to open on October 25, 1986 -- the same night his beloved Boston R

Written by award-winning novelist Don DeLillo (WHITE NOISE, UNDERWORLD) and directed by Michael Hoffman (SOAPDISH, ONE FINE DAY), GAME 6 is a smart psychological study of a man unable to face the reality of his life. Michael Keaton stars as Nickey Rogan, a successful playwright of Broadway fluff whose new, serious play is scheduled to open on October 25, 1986 -- the same night his beloved Boston Red Sox have a chance at winning the World Series, playing Game 6 against the New York Mets at Shea Stadi! um. Despite his popular success, Rogan sees his life as being as futile as the Red Sox, who have not won the baseball championship since 1918. He's not very close with his daughter (Ari Graynor), his wife (Catherine O'Hara) is divorcing him, his girlfriend (Bebe Neuwirth) doesn't understand him, and his lead actor (Harris Yulin) has a parasite in his brain that is causing him to forget his lines. Meanwhile, Rogan is terrified that hated theater critic Steven Schwimmer (Robert Downey Jr.) will tear his play apart, leaving him a shell of a man, like his friend Elliot Litvack (Griffin Dunne). A former cabdriver, Rogan spends much of the day stuck in taxis in heavy traffic, attempting to engage the hacks in conversation, and bonding better with strangers than with his friends and family. As the curtain approaches, he can't decide whether he'd rather be at the play or watching the game on television, afraid that both might fail him. Hoffman sets the film in a tight-knit New York! City community that moves at a snail's pace, where coincidenc! es both welcome and not abound. Keaton excels as the tortured soul who is looking for that critical hit--in both Broadway and baseball parlance. He just can't face another ball going through his legs. Hoboken's Yo La Tengo composed the movie's excellent score.Game 6, the first produced screenplay by acclaimed novelist Don DeLillo (White Noise), follows the obsession of a playwright, Nicky Rogan (Michael Keaton), whose beloved jinxed Red Sox are playing game six of the 1986 World Series--the same night Rogan's new play opens on Broadway. The stories that intersect to construct this ominous character study are woven by stellar performances by a first-rate cast, including Keaton, who gives a not-quite-unraveled reading that reminds us what a strong character actor he can be. Around Keaton is a fine ensemble, including a brittle Catherine O'Hara as his estranged wife ("Nicky, I'm seeing a prominent divorce attorney." "How prominent?" "He has his own submarine."); Bebe Neuw! irth as his high-strung paramour; Griffin Dunne as an unglued fellow writer; and Robert Downey Jr. as a Buddhist theater critic whose ruinous reviews are as deadly as the loaded gun he takes to premieres. If the plot is a little far-fetched (and the climactic scene preposterous), the audacious writing and gripping performances more than make up for it. As Rogan says, "Winning is easy; losing is complicated." --A.T. Hurley