Hard Eight
General December 28th, 2005
I watched Hard Eight last night. It’s a Paul Thomas Anderson movie (Boogie Nights, Magnolia, *cough, choke, gasp* Punch-Drunk Love) and I knew going in it was going to be weird. But, it involved a master and an apprentice gambler and ripping off casinos, and the name and one of the subthemes in the movie involves making a $2000 craps bet on hard eight (rolling four and four.) I might have shied away because of my aversion to Anderson’s other films, but this one had a star cast and a gambling plot, so I threw it in the queue.
Overall, I was impressed. There’s a haunting, pulsing theme that runs through this movie (similar to Boogie Nights and Magnolia,) with some stellar performances. We see raw, natural characters portrayed by John Reilly and Sammy L. (the purple one, muthafucker!) Jackson, and Gwyneth. (Ah, Gwyneth.) The take-away performance from this movie came from Philip Baker Hall; he’s up there on my short list of extremely enjoyable, talented actors. He really made the movie. (Similar to how Cruise was a shining light in Magnolia.)
The plot was simple, and never fully disclosed. It read like a short-story or play, and I dug it. Not for movie of the year or even the Academy, but for a simple noir story excellently spun.
About
