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'Just a classic about pool' was the first thing that came straight into my head about this film before I saw it. When I watched it, I was half wrong. Yeah, it featured pool but it wasn't about pool. It just happened to be of interest to the characters and part of the story but I still wouldn't really call it a sport film. Anyway, my thoughts on the film went beyond my expectations and I absolutely adored it! It surprisingly turned out like an underdog story where Eddie would try and beat the pool legend Minnesota Fats.
"Fast" Eddie Felson is a super-confident gambler who challenges the big boys to a high-stakes match. When he loses he's forced to go on the road with dodgy and dangerous manager Gordon, though he soon realises he'll have to lose his morals to win at this game. As far as I'm concerned, fuck Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, Cool Hand Luke and The Sting! They are all very good films but The Hustler is definitely Paul Newman's masterpiece! Newman's performance is just legendary as Eddie Felson and he proves that he is perhaps the only actor who can play this guy like it is his own character. As the film progresses, Eddie begins to have a change of heart and truly realises what is important. This is mostly lead on by Sarah Packard (portrayed by Piper Laurie). I had not seen any film starring Laurie before and after her great performance in The Hustler it has inspired me to watch some more from her. Sarah Packard is a young woman who is a college girl who used to be an actress (so she says) and has a bit of an alcohol problem. She is looking for a break in her life like meeting Eddie and making the relationship with him last. To start with, it was like they were just in each others company sleeping with each other and that was it but they do gradually fall for each other but prepare for a heartbreaking end. George C. Scott was fantastic as Bert Gordon! Gordon is a professional gambler who is like an accomplice to Eddie on his trip to Louisville but he is really against him by being alongside professional pool player Minnesota Fats. Despite his role was minor, Jackie Gleason was awesome as Minnesota Fats!
Director Robert Rossen may not have made that many films in his career but he certainly knows how to direct great films. I thought he was really creative with The Hustler because you'd only have to read the plot of the film to automatically assume it is a sports film when it actually isn't really. Very creative filming too especially with the pool games and the shots he used. Was pretty good when there were awesome shots when Eddie took good shots into the holes where only a professional would be able to put in. I mean, throughout most of those moments, it really did look like it was Paul Newman taking all of them when most of them where Paul wasn't in the shot was a professional pool player taking the close-up ones. Despite that neither of the screenwriters actually wrote the book, they wrote it pretty well. I have never read the book but I have heard that they are like pretty much the same.
Overall, The Hustler is an amazing classic that I probably could watch repeatedly and not many classics do that for me. It is a very moving, personal and inspiring film that will remain one of the best films of all time for many generations to come.
10/10
