The Suicide Club (2000)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Rachel Samuels

Writers:

Robert Louis Stevenson (short story "The Suicide Club")
Lev L. Spiro (written by)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Pray you don't draw it.

Plot:

A man joins a secret club for those who are seeking to end their lives, only to rediscover his will to live upon meeting the club's only female member.

Plot Keywords:

Suicide | Independent Film

Cast

Jonathan Pryce	...	Bourne
David Morrissey	...	Henry Joyce
Paul Bettany	...	Shaw
Neil Stuke	...	Captain May
Catherine Siggins	...	Sarah Wolverton
Terry McMahon	...	Pratt
Regan Hutchinson	...	Clayton
Eamon Glancy	...	Brig
Frank Melia	...	Thorpe
Eamon Draper	...	Inspector Enfield
Pete Ryan	...	Constable
Seamus Feerick	...	Poole's Driver
Ger Consodine	...	Rude Gent
Stephen Wyllie	...	Angry Man
Stephen Holland	...	Duelling Man

Also Known As:

Game of Death (USA) (MIFED title)
Robert Louis Stevenson's The Game of Death (USA)
Robert Louis Stevenson's The Suicide Club (USA) (copyright title)
The Death Club (USA) (video title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Connemara, County Galway, Ireland

Goofs:

Continuity: The street outside Sarah's house is dirt in daytime shots but paved in nighttime shots.

Movie Connections:

Version of El club de los suicidas (1970)

Brilliantly realized, elegantly crafted. A superb work of art.

When I heard there was a film version of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Suicide Club, I was immediately intrigued. Stevenson's short story set up an unusual and very dark premise but I felt the story too short, it's possibilities not quite fulfilled. Samuels' film version expands Stevenson's idea and takes it to the limit. Jonathan Pryce is wonderfully sinister as the mastermind behind a game of death. Literally, a card game. The story's hero, destroyed by the tragic demise of the woman he loves, craves nothing but death for himself. Lured into a macabre private club where death is dealt by Pryce as the Master of Ceremonies, Henry Joyce is eager to be dealt the one special black card. Because in this club, members kill each other, eliminating a charge of suicide - anathema in Victorian England. Then, Joyce meets the mysterious Sara - brilliantly played by Catheryn Siggins, also a club member and things begin to unravel for Joyce as he finds himself falling in love. Twists and turns and a surprise ending tops off this excellent film. Paul Bettany, Samuels' discovery, as Shaw is perfectly cast. I was so drawn in that I almost wanted to join the club. Beautifully shot in Ireland with authentic period details, Samuels has made a tour de force on a shoestring.