Gerald's Game Review: 7 Ups & 2 Downs
Ups
7. Carla Gugino & Bruce Greenwood's Excellent Performances
For the majority, Gerald's Game is a two-person show, with Carla Gugino's Jessie spending most of the film tied to a bed after a sex game goes wrong and her husband, the titular Gerald, dies of a heart attack.
Gugino, a terrific actress who hasn't had too many starring roles throughout her career, resolutely rises to the challenge of commanding the screen for the majority of its runtime. Selling the terror of the scenario and effortlessly easy to root for, it simply proves she's deserving of more high-profile parts.
Then there's Bruce Greenwood as Gerald, who dies early in the first act, but returns throughout as a taunting manifestation in Jessie's mind.
Greenwood, who cuts a far more impressive physique than you probably ever expected, is deliciously salacious and provocative as Jessie's kinky husband, and like Gugino, it's nice to see him having such a front-and-center part.