Review of The Hustler (1961) by Chris W — 03 Dec 2011

This is an absolutely brilliant character study. Much like Raging Bull, this is not really about the game or sport highlighted in the film. In this case, pool is merely the backdrop for a finely observed portrait of honor, humanity, greed, determination, loss, and consequences.

The black and white photography looks absolutely gorgeous, creating a captivating atmosphere. The editing is well executed also, featuring a mix of dissolves, wipes, hard cuts, and brilliant intercutting that really elevates the tension during the game scenes. The music is also quite wonderful- nice jazz music that really brings the themes, characters, and situations to life: really timeless stuff.

While all of the performances are absolutely perfect, this is truly Paul Newman's film. Gleason exudes a calm, yet menacing wisdom, Scott nails the greedy soulless vulture role (and keeps it from being cliched), Laurie gives a deep and heartbreaking performances as the moral center, and McCormick is also great as the old friend, mentor, and partner who really was a better fit than he got credit for. As I said though, this is Newman's film. This is one of those performances that will truly stick out in history, and that's saying a lot considering some of his other great roles. Newman is sharp, charming, and someone you care for, despite his flaws, no matter how big they are. His redemption is earned, although it comes at a terribly high price.

I can't recommend this enough. I'm sure it already gets studied enough in film classes across the country (and rightly so), but the attention paid to it wll never be undeserved. As a bit of closing trivia, besides the earlier reference to Raging Bull, here's some more. Now, everyone probably knows that both Raging Bull and The Color of Money (the sequel to The Hustler) were directed by Martin Scorsese, but how about this one: Jake LaMotta appears in a cameo in this film as one of the bartenders-that's great.