Or simply put, a thread about my exploration of director filmographys. I spent last year trying to do that as best as I could, and I would love to play catch up. Plus I was endlessly bugged by certain posters about certain things, such as why I'm woefully behind on seeing certain movies, and of course the fact that I don't post reviews here, although that can be blamed on me trying to endlessly draw traffic towards my blog, which is a huge pet project of mine despite earning nothing from said venture. So um, yeah here's a review. Wahoo.
Hard Eight (1996, Paul Thomas Anderson)
With sparse and concise opening credits, Paul Thomas Anderson's Hard Eight (1996) is a rather straightforward film debut for a college washout. Its also a great one, even if some do not think so, an engaging and well crafted movie that owns a bit of inspiration to the Jean-Pierre Melville 1956 classic Bob le flambeur, another movie about a gambler who is forced into a hard situation by the people he cares about. Where as in that film one such people betrays him, in Hard Eight elder gambler Sydney benefits from aiding young John and Clementine, two people in love. Or at least they think its love-after all they dwell in Reno where drunk people get wedded all the time. Its too close to Vegas.
Anderson utilizes numerous usual tricks of the trade, such as a nice tracking shot that follows Sydney through a casino room that, as most casino rooms are, brightly lit by false light yet surrounded in darkness. There are no windows and time passes without notice unless you have a watch and finally tire of losing your money at the slot machines or get busted at blackjack and poker. Its interesting how John seems to prosper, where as Sydney in one scene featuring a cameo by Philip Seymour Hoffman, as a crude, taunting and foul mouthed tourist who bests Sydney at "Hard Eight." Losing two grand, especially to someone who knows nothing of Vegas and Reno customs, who has little respect for elders and the rules, has to hurt.
What a cast this film has: the always excellent Philip Baker Hall,; the underrated John C. Reilly, who handles some of this movie's bits of humor well; gorgeous Gwyneth Paltrow, and cool as ice Samuel L. Jackson. I'll admit I felt a little awful when I laughed at Hall's nasty "Hooker school" retort to Clementine, yet its an odd moment amongst a set up gone horribly wrong. Even though I saw certain events coming, I rather liked the final scene. I'm not sure its how I would have ended the movie, but this is why I'm not a Hollywood director and Paul Thomas Anderson has a huge fanbase and Oscar nominations.
Of course the reactions to my liking of this movie are that its not a particularly good film, and that I'm in for better things to come. I'm aware of this based on how much praise PTA's other movies have received, however I still loved Hard Eight and enjoyed it as a great first film (if you don't count his short films, which I kind of don't just because they are hard to get ahold of). I do look forward to watching the rest of his filmography, particularly since some of them are also available on Netflix Instant Viewing.