The Hustler

Robert Rossen, 1961

IMDB

3/5

Skilled Pool player Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) is dead-set on defeating notorious player Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason). 

The Hustler is a throwback piece. To a piece of time. A timepiece. No, a grainy timepiece. To a period in time, in the early 1960's, where men wore suits and not flip flops and shorts. A period in time where cigarette smoke filled the air, along with smell of daytime whiskey drinking. A period in time where men slapped women for getting out of line, and when it was an eyebrow raising thought of a 30 year old attending college classes. Okay, so not all of it was something to be proud about. While The Hustler focuses upon Eddie and his pursuit of financial success with Pool gambling, the film is more of a character study on Eddie. His relentless pursuit of winning. Self destruction, sacrifice, pride. Self doubt. Personal torture. Eddie is a complicated character. He proves quite early on in the film that there is more to his motivations than pure victory. If this were the case, he could have taken his winnings and called it a day when he was up $18,000 against Minnesota Fats (which is $142,000 in today's dollars if you were wondering).

He meets fellow complicated person Sarah at the diner while he is attempting to put himself back together again. They are two peas in a pod because of their questionable pasts. They don't want to disclose it all to each other, at least not right away. Sarah works her way into Eddie's heart, but it's quite obvious that it's still not as close as his beloved Pool game or his gambling tendencies. You could easily say the film is a film on gambling addiction. It explores some of the layers of an addict, some of the ambiguity of what its going to take to feel complete. Eddie certainly doesn't feel complete, and he is unable to enjoy his success even when he's right in the middle of it.

It's a really nice film to look at. The Ames Billiards, Eddie and Sarah's apartment, the bus station. Exceptionally well-shot. Certainly deserving of the two Oscars for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography. The lingering cigarette smoke and paint-peeling apartment walls may remind you of films like Lumet's 1957 courtroom drama (or back of courtroom drama) 12 Angry Men. Plot-wise they are completely different from each other, but there is a similar visual quality to the two. They are also timeless treasures beautifully preserved in black and white. Both are enjoyable to come back to 40 or 50 years later.

Carrie

Brian De Palma, 1976


3/5

Outcast Carrie (Sissy Spacek) is young girl with a secret ability who is tormented by her high school classmates. After an embarrassing shower incident, some of the girls look for revenge while she is just looking to fit in. Based on the book by Stephen King.

One of the better film adaptations of Stephen King's work. This film doesn't appear on a lot of peoples lists in terms of best King films, and that's an oversight. Because ultimately it's a better film than 1408. It's a better film than Sometimes They Come Back. And it's certainly a much better film than Secret Window. The film is an example of old times, old traditions, an old world. A world in which teachers can physically hit their students if they mouth bath. A world in which the act of bullying is ruthless, and in the norm. A world of old gym lockers, and high socks. A world of drinking cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon while driving.

De Palma does a terrific job of directing the film, and the final product is well-organized. Mario Tosi demonstrates some great cinematography with several stand-out moments. The scene where the gym teacher is forcing the girls to exercise during detention. The camera pans just above ground level, capturing the very much outdated clothing and the complaining moans of the girls at each rep. The prom scene is perfectly put together. The glittery silver paper stars sort of give a sense of false pageantry, a disconcerting elegance. The dance band plays on as the sense of uneasiness continues. The camera spins around Carrie as she is experiencing a lot of firsts at once, creating an intoxicating dizziness. Spacek really delivers a great performance. Immediately sympathetic, her eyes tell a whole story. One of the flaws of the film is her mother, played by Piper Laurie. She was surprisingly nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, but her character is very much over-the-top and borderline cartoonish. Probably a character better suited for a book than on film. But Spacek deserved her Oscar nod, and unfortunately lost to Faye Dunaway in Network (tough call there). Some of the horror films like this (although this is more of a thriller) play off a demonic less-is-more let-your-imagination-do-the-work minimalist approach. Character driven 1970's pieces focused on a central force like The Exorcist or The Omen. Films like this can't be made today on a $1.8M budget, and that's a shame. Instead, they are remade on a large budget that relies heavily on CGI to tell the story. A lot ends up being lost. But it's hard to categorize this film as well. It always felt as if it were marketed as a horror. But it's not really that scary. It's more of a well-acted, well-constructed, revenge piece.