Hard Eight (1997)

Sadly Over-hyped

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Good movie but grossly overrated

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

While most people would say that Punch Drunk Love is Paul Thomas Anderson's 'Black Sheep' film of his great filmography, I would argue that Hard Eight is his most underrated. Dare I say that this is one of the most underrated movies of all time. The performances are very good, Phillip Baker Hall is great, Sam Jackson is awesome as always, Gwyneth Paltrow and John C Reilly were really good as well, however, they both had some moments that brought their performances down. The soundtrack is absolutely great, one of my favourites. It has a very sleazy feel and pulls of the casino feel. Overall, while I would say that Boogie Nights and There Will Be Blood are better, this is still a strong debut from Paul Thomas Anderson.

This film tells the story of a professional gambler, who takes a broke young man under his wing. He teaches the young man how to win in casinos, but things take a turn when they meet a beautiful waitress called Clementine.Firstly, I am impressed by the actors and actresses who have become very big names subsequent to this film. Secondly, the story is intriguing and engaging. It doesn't feel like it's 90 minutes long! Clementine is adorable and​charming, and it's easy to see why John feel for her. The events at the end are unexpected, and makes the film exec more interesting. The most memorable thing for me though, is the professional gambler. His calm, controlled demeanour is contrary to what I expect from a professional gambler!

Hard Eight (1996): Dir: Paul Thomas Anderson / Cast: Phillip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow, Samuel L. Jackson, Philip Seymour Hoffman: Intriguing view of guilt presented as the game Hard Eights itself. Phillip Baker Hall invites a depressed John C. Reilly to coffee. Reilly claims to need $6000 to bury his mother and offers Hall fifty for a trip to Vegas where he is taught how to win at the slot machines. Reilly meets a waitress played by Gwyneth Paltrow and not long after they are married. Director Paul Thomas Anderson employee many surprises including an ending that solves nothing. What works is intriguing well written characters that elevate above the plot. Great performance by Hall smitten with guilt over the death of Reilly's father. This is an opportunity for Reilly to play a lead. He plays an individual broken by family loss and attempts happiness with this sudden romance that turns ugly when prostitution plays a factor. Paltrow is interesting as a waitress who marries Reilly only to end up with a stranger handcuffed to the bed in a prostitution scam. Samuel L. Jackson is excellent as a blackmailer who knows Hall's past and the secret he conceals. Philip Seymour Hoffman makes an appearance as a craps player. Anderson gambles simple setups yet comes up with the winning hand on a screenplay that addresses guilt and the ever conscious need to hide sin. Score: 8 / 10

Paul Thomas Anderson's first film really had everything - Gwynneth Platrow! Samuel L. Jackson! John C. Reilly! Philip Seymour Hoffman! and of course, a magisterial performance from veteran actor Philip Baker Hall in the lead role. But it's not just the mostly not-yet-quite-so-famous cast that make the movie stand out. Structured as a taut three-act play, the movie is mesmerising but never easy: Reilly plays a loser's loser, Paltrow's role is not the sort in which her contemporary audience to seeing her, Hofmann is just repulsive, there's something faintly effeminate (on first glance) about Jackson, while Hall is supremely enigmatic right until the end. A heavy score guides us through the confusion. In contrast, Anderson's later films seem overweight and comfortable (although the director has re-used some of the same cast in his other works). Although it has something of a beginner's feel to it (the low budget, and there's a certain show-off property in the depths of it's stylish restraint), it's still my favourite of his movies.