The Hustler "How Can I Lose?"

 Paul Newman, ever since he passed away, has become sort of an icon in my eyes. I did not know much about Newman at first but lately I have seen a lot of him. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The Sting. Road to Perdition. The Hudsucker Proxy. The Verdict. Cool Hand Luke. The list goes on and on and he will forever be remembered through his films and the impact he made on acting. So The Hustler was a classic that I needed to get my hands on and just recently Netflix made me happy by streaming it. So hopefully Newman was going to once again amaze me.

The Hustler is about Eddie Felson (Paul Newman), a pool hustler, who is on a mission to defeat pool shark Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason). After losing, Eddie must get his life back together in order to face Fats again. On the way he meets Sarah and falls for her and tries to balance pool with her. Bert (George C. Scott) soon catches up to Eddie and makes him an offer to take down Fats but while working for Bert. Eddie must decide if he is willing to let his competitive edge ruin his life and if his obsession will ruin his relationship with Sarah all before the big showdown with Fats.

This movie really is thanks to a wonderful cast. They do a great job at capturing their characters and making the audience sympathize and feel for them. Paul Newman, as always, gives a wonderful performance as Eddie a man whose obsessions get the better of him. The best scene is near the end as Newman takes on Fats and gives a nice monologue along with some sharp one liners and he makes it feel as he is saying them to the viewer. He showed determination, depression, and desperateness all within one film. Another shout out goes to Piper Laurie who played the alcoholic Laurie and did a damn good job at it. At first she makes us fall in love with her and takes us down with her as her alcoholism gets the best of her. George C. Scott, one of the greatest actors of all time, is great as well here as Bert and shows no mercy. He is intimidating and deceptive and has his classic shades throughout. Overall this film has a lot to do with the wonderful cast.

Other than that this movie really explores some deep themes. For one this movie really is about how obsession destroys people. For Eddie, his obsession with beating Fats destroys his relationship with his only friend Charlie, kills his girlfriend Sarah, and takes away all his money. It also is about Sarah's obsession with alcohol, and while she has moments where she is cured, she does come back and it ultimately helps lead to her demise. It is also about Bert's obsession with power. Power over Fats, power over Eddie, and power over Sarah. Indeed Sarah's demise is the combination of all three obsessions destroy her life and reflecting the road it will lead each person towards. It leads to the final showdown which is a great scene to watch play out.

Directed by Robert Rossen, this film had a nice visual flair to it. The opening pool scenes were wonderfully edited and nicely shot. Also there are some great explorations of the themes talked about above and once again, as I usually love it, he decides to let the characters tell more of the story than trying to show too much. He knows this is a character driven movie and lets it go well. The cinematographer was nicely done and worth some mention.

Overall this is a great classic and if you enjoy classics then you will enjoy this one. Great for any Newman fans and it is worth a good watch. 4.5 out of 5 stars