Addict Recommends: (Film) Hard Eight (1996)

Starring: John C. Riley, Phillip Baker Hall, Gwyneth Paltrow, Samuel L. Jackson

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

John needs six thousand dollars to bury his dead mother. When he meets Sydney, he is slumped against the outer wall of a seemingly ubiquitous diner somewhere between Las Vegas and Reno. Sydney offers him coffee and a cigarette. John reluctantly agrees, not knowing at first how to react to the kindness of strangers. When Sydney is informed that John is broke and has few prospects of earning money, he offers to teach the younger man what he knows. Which, it turns out, is how to get a free room and meal, how to scratch out a comfortable living as a professional gambler. But he makes it clear that he does not have six thousand dollars to give. Having no other options, John agrees to give it a try. “It’s always good to meet a new friend,” Sydney says sincerely.

So opens one of the great gambling films of the 1990’s. For a movie that generally flies under the radar, the cast of characters is frankly astounding. John C. Riley gives a perfectly flawed performance as “John,” always misusing words and phrases at just the right time to expose his character’s weakness. Philip Baker Hall gives an almost career-defining performance as the tough but generous and honest “Sydney.” Gwyneth Paltrow shimmers as “Clementine,” a waitress and sometimes prostitute. Samuel L. Jackson brings a charged performance in the portrayal of “Jimmy,” an egocentric scam artist, gambler and would be dangerous dude. Even Philip Seymour Hoffman makes a brilliant cameo as a loudmouth drunk at the craps table.

Sydney does teach John the ropes of how to make a living as a professional gambler, and the funeral is held somehow. Two years go by and the duo are still together, skulking around Reno’s casino-hotels, angling for comps, skimming the percentages. Clementine tells Sydney in the bar one day, “I see the way John follows you around and worships you, like you’re his captain.” And indeed it’s true.

But why is Sydney doing this, we wonder? He clearly has nothing to gain, and he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who gives away his trade secrets for free. As the story goes on, John and Clementine fall in love. Where will it lead? And what does Jimmy know about Atlantic City anyway? The answer just might cost Sydney six thousand dollars after all. Then again, every gamble contains the possibility of victory.

Directed by P.T. Anderson, (Boogie Nights, Magnolia) and containing an excellent musical score, Hard Eight is one of those movies where, at the end, you will feel enriched but not know exactly why, at least not on the first go around. I believe this reaction has three foundations. First, the story is pure, unadorned with superfluities that distract the viewer from focusing on the journey. Second, the acting is simply first rate: raw and honest, practiced but not polished. Finally, Hard Eight, while well known to cinema cognoscenti, was a real sleeper. The first time I saw it, I felt like I was in on a great little secret that only a few people knew about.

Well, I don’t know if the word’s already out. Either way, you should definitely see this film.