The Great Movies – The Hustler

Reviews


Image courtesy of impawards.com

Director:
Robert Rossen

Cast:

Paul Newman……….Eddie Felson
Jackie Gleason……….Minnesota Fats
Piper Laurie……….Sarah Packard
George C. Scott……….Bert Gordon
Myron McCormick……….Charlie Burns
Murray Hamilton……….Findley
Michael Constantine……….Big John
Stefan Gierasch……….Preacher
Clifford A. Pellow……….Turk (as Cliff Pellow)
Jake LaMotta……….Bartender
Gordon B. Clarke……….Cashier
Alexander Rose……….Score Keeper
Carolyn Coates……….Waitress
Carl York……….Young Hustler
Vincent Gardenia……….Bartender

No disrespect to Paul Newman, but he is no Matt Damon. There is a litany of movies that The Hustler has left its fingerprints on, but none is as obviously influenced by it as Rounders. That one could even consider a film like Rounders to be better than The Hustler illuminates the beauty and the flaws of Roger Ebert’s list of great films.

A great film is timeless, which The Hustler supposedly is (Paul Newman’s Fast Eddie would still be a badass today). But a great film also remains relevant despite the passage of time, something The Hustler does not seem to do. It is not so much that the idea of a down on his luck billiards player, or any gambler for that matter, is dated. In fact, troubles from gambling are more relevant than ever. No, what is dated about The Hustler is the romanticizing of one’s salvation.

Building character is not easy and the odds of finding it in a pool hall or card room as so unlikely, not even the worst gambler would bet on it. Yet, Fast Eddie believes besting pool-great Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) will somehow fulfill his soul. What Eddie doesn’t count on is that talent and class are two very different things. The great people of this world have a mix of both, and the others are losers just like Eddie.

The initial showdown between Eddie and Fats emphasizes how much growth must go through to become truly great. Not surprisingly, Eddie strengthens his character away from the pool table when he meets fellow lost soul, Sarah (Piper Laurie, with a sexy, syrupy voice that no man could resist). Eddie and Sarah nourish each other with their own addictive natures. Some might view their love as pure, but it comes across as each replacing one vice with another. The Hustler echoes reality up to that point, but things become somewhat idealized after that.

It gives nothing away to say Eddie returns to beat Fats, nor does it ruin anything to say that Eddie has changed, and that is the problem. The audience is never in doubt that Eddie will triumph in the end. The best movies involving competition in some form are always the ones in which it is not apparent that the antagonist is going to win. That is why Rounders is the ideal film of this genre. Hollywood may not allow for a loss by definition, but Matt Damon is a loser in every other sense of the word.

Damon’s character arc in Rounders is almost non-existent, something I feel to be closer to the truth in the realm of gambling, and competition in general. Certainly class and desire to win are not mutually exclusive, but they are not good friends either. Damon’s Mike still yearns to be the best, no matter the cost, and he always believes there is something to prove. Eddie, on the other hand, is mostly satisfied in conquering his demon. The Hustler does not give enough credence to the demon inside Eddie.

In fairness, acknowledging a struggle within Eddie at all was still quite bold territory in 1961, but the film suffers from it today. Newman, in a great performance nonetheless, is almost playing two completely different people from scene to scene. It should be as difficult for the audience as it for Eddie to decide whether or not he is a loser. But we know Eddie will be a winner from the beginning, so we get to the finish before Eddie does. Thus, some of the enjoyment derived from the ride is taken from us.

Still, The Hustler will surely satisfy many viewers, but it is doubtful that it will linger long in the audience’s mind. Rounders is better, but it remains a movie of its time, The Hustler should be left in its time, too. It may have been great at one time, but today it is full of clichés and contrivances that future films would be wise to stay away from.