HARD EIGHT | FILM REVIEW

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Also known as Sydney, is a 1996 crime drama film directed and written by acclaimed director Paul Thomas Anderson.

John Finnegan is at the worst point in his life, with no roof over his head and not a penny in his pocket, he intends to get the money to pay for his mother's funeral, but has no idea how to get it. Luckily for John, Sydney suddenly appears in his life, inviting him for a cigarette and a cup of coffee. After a conversation, Sydney proposes to go to Las Vegas with the promise to lend him some money and teach him how to get room and food. Why? For something that only he seems to know.

Hard Eight is a subtle drama about the bonds that are created with other people, bonds of friendship, bonds of love, and how these relationships can be painful and very complicated, about how opposing feelings struggle with each other when deciding whether to accept or reject a relationship, about forgiveness, it also talks about dealing with oneself, with the mistakes made in the past and about the desire for redemption.

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A devious, polite and mysterious Philip Baker Hall, a naive and immature John C. Reilly and a chaotic and promiscuous Gwyneth Paltrow are the main characters in this story, the relationship that each of their characters have with each other is the compass that guides this narrative. Samuel L. Jackson and Philip Seymour Hoffman play supporting roles in a terrific and complementary way.

A simple script born from the 1993 short Cigarettes & Coffee is complemented by delicate direction for an hour and forty-two minutes. The result is honestly good, not Paul Thomas Anderson's best film, but it was an acceptable debut for this great director, well worth seeing.

Let me know in the comments what you think of the film, and if you haven't seen it yet, let me know if you'd be interested in seeing it or why you'd rather see something else.