Hard Eight

It is a rare and mysterious act of altruism that is unexplained until later in the film.

Gwyneth Paltrow comes in later as a waitress/occasional hooker, who's personal weakness steers the characters into great danger.

I really felt the love - that Sid would do anything for his adopted son, despite his flaws, and that this relationship had given his empty life a new meaning and purpose.

The theme here is of losers, trying desperately to join hands and bring themselves a new life and a brighter future, despite their great problems and psychic devastation. This is a story of internal growth that we all emulate.

The dialogue style is also very distinctive and powerful, rather like David Mamet.

This was one of Gwyneth Paltrow's early films - It wasn't widely distributed, but it certainly lead to major roles later. She's obviously a very powerful talented actress - and it's more obvious here because this isn't a beauty-queen role. If anything it's the opposite, but she shines through it.

On the strength of this movie PT Anderson finished Boogie Nights two years later and is now an international star, if not yet a box-office hero.

This was the first film by director Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love), and it seems to have improved with age. It has the slower, deliberate pacing that seems to be a P.T.A. trademark, and it is a dark little movie. The more I watch it, the more I find interesting about it. It doesn't quite pop off the screen the way Boogie Nights and Magnolia did, but I feel that this one is worth a look.

This is the story of a man named Sydney (Philip Baker Hall). Sydney is at a roadside diner when he sees a man sitting alone outside the diner. The man, John (John C Reilly) looks to be incredibly down on his luck with no idea of what to do next. John doesn't even have a clue of what he can possibly do next. Sydney offers John a cigarette and a cup of coffee. He then offers John a hand to get back on his feet. Sydney offers John a ride to Vegas, fifty dollars, and offers to teach him how he can use that money to get a room. We see the beginnings of a mentor/student relationship. What we don't know is why Sydney is doing this for John.

Flash forward two years. We are still in Las Vegas. John seems to be doing better and he is still with Sydney. The mentor/student relationship feels more like a father/son relationship. We are introduced to Clementine (Gwyneth Paltrow), a waitress at a casino. She knows Sydney and seems to like him. She is worried about doing something wrong to disappoint John. We're now unsure about how Clementine fits into the equation, where she will impact the lives of Sydney and John, but we know she will. We are also introduced to Jimmy (Samuel L Jackson), a friend of John's. John likes Jimmy, but also seems to be led by Jimmy, overpowered by Jimmy. It is obvious that Sydney does not like Jimmy.

For a good portion of the movie I was unsure of where the film was going, but I was very interested in how it was going to get there. I suspect that Hard Eight is not a movie for everyone, even those who normally like P.T.A.'s other work. You can tell it is an independent film (it does not have the polish you are likely to find when a studio puts up a larger sum of money), and it is a slow moving one. It also features some fantastic performances by Philip Baker Hall, John C Reilly, and Gwyneth Paltrow. I would like to especially note the work done by Philip Baker Hall: exceptional. The more I think about this movie, the more I like it. This is not a slick Hollywood movie, but it's a fine piece of work and an often overlooked one.