Haie der Großstadt

It's been quite a few years since I've seen this beautiful black and white film, but it has left indelible memories in me to this day. Paul Newman excels in his best film role as a champion pool player battling fate, envy and himself. The love line, Newman's unfulfilled love for a young woman slipping into alcoholism, is one of the best I've seen in a film. Those nine Oscar nominations are very well deserved. (22.07.2002)

Life is like a box of chocolates … and like another word that starts with “b” – billiards. Sometimes you have the matter firmly in hand, but just one miscue is enough for you to go from being an active player to a helpless observer. Your (un)happiness is suddenly in someone else’s hands. Sometimes there is nothing else to do but to learn a different game. Or play differently. After a long yet briskly paced game lasting more than half an hour, The Hustler changes into a drawn-out psychological drama. Based on the change of both the pace and the overall mood, it is clear that Eddie has crashed hard. His exceedingly high level of self-confidence has been brought down to the level of unconfident Sarah. Thanks to his loss in the game, he scored points in a romantic relationship. That doesn’t mean he won’t pick up a cue stick again; on the contrary, it gives him new motivation. With his style of acting, the excellent Paul Newman reminded me of Marlon Brando ten years earlier in A Streetcar Named Desire (method acting on full display). The essential difference consists in the natures of their respective characters. Eddie isn’t a hopeless bastard, but just a drifter who stopped in one place. He lived to win, but now he’s catching one blow after another. He will either learn to tolerate defeat, or he will be forever defeated. His actions are unbelievable in places, but thanks to him, the heart of the matter gets to everyone at the end. There is no doubt about the change, about who the winner is and who the loser is. The immortality of this black-and-white classic is aided also by the colourful performance of George C. Scott, who radiates the same arrogance as General Turgidson in Dr. Strangelove, but you can sense a weak core beneath the tough-talking veneer. With minimum action and maximum dialogue, The Hustler makes it clear that it is an actors’ film. I am thus surprised by how popular it still is today. Most certainly not among those who blindly gamble, but among those who love billiards because, like Eddie, they understand. 75% (28.05.2011)

Watching Paul Newman play the pyramid made me reminisce about the years I spent feeling the same things by the pool table as he did winning over Minnesota. However, with every next beer there was more courage and less winnings. Therefore, there’s nothing to complain about. A could-be-real-life movie only with a more extensive story which is not essential here. There probably doesn’t exist a better game of pool made into a movie. (20.01.2019)

A good drama, but it struck me as primarily good rather than exceptionally so. Paul Newman is great here, as are Scott and Laurie. None of them are otherwise known for it, but it's really just the dark portrayal that elevates it into a good film. Man is a real problem to himself, but we all know that. (08.04.2015)