Review of Hard Eight (1997) by James R — 20 Dec 2008
In Canada, this has been unavailable to rent or purchase for quite some time so it took a while for me to see it. Being a big fan of There Will Be Blood and P.T. Anderson's other work I was naturally looking forward to checking out his debut.
Hard Eight definately feels like a director's first picture. He's already got his tone down, and Anderson right from the get go is able to capture great performances from his leads (Reilly and Baker Hall especially) but it's the story department that needs the work. Even at 90 odd mins, the movie feels leisurely paced. That sort of deliberate, unhurried storytelling works for sprawling epics like Magnolia or There Will Be Blood because their expanded running times leave room for a lot more detail.
Hard Eight feels half baked in comparison.
This review of Hard Eight (1997) was written by James R on 20 Dec 2008.
Hard Eight has generally received positive reviews.
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