Hard Eight Club Discussion

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Here is the thread for our first PTA film. Happy watching. Going to watch it this weekend for the third time but I will leave my review from my last viewing here to maybe get us rolling.


Our introduction to Hard Eight is a look at John (Reilly), sitting despondent next to a diner. He is approached by our protagonist Sydney (Hall), for whom which the movie was originally named. Sydney simply asks John if he would like a cigarette and a cup of coffee. John reluctantly agrees and sits with Sydney in the diner. Sydney is inquisitive to the point of pushy, he wants to know why John is here and what his plans are. At the same time he seems to genuinely want to help John out of his situation. John is reluctant, as are we, but he also seems to be out of options so he agrees to travel with Sydney to Vegas and take some advice and money. This initial exchange is engaging. It tells us quite a bit about the characters while still leaving plenty of mystery. It raises many questions about the characters. Some that will not be answered till the end of the film. Probably some that will never be answered for many. It gives the film a tone of mystery that will never go away. This very first scene in Anderson's very first feature film can sum up quite nicely why he has become one of my favorite directors over the past three years. His characters are rich and the dialogue written for them is smart and funny. His scenes are full of suspense even, and maybe especially, when it is just two people talking and trying to figure each other out. He sets the atmosphere perfectly through his scores which I find to be the best choices of any director working right now. He moves his camera perfectly, always framing his shots just so. His themes are obvious but handled in a way that is ambiguous. Most of the characters in an Anderson movie never get any kind of real closure unless they end up dead.

That brings us back to Hard Eight. The main theme becomes obvious quickly. Sydney is a father figure. He is a father figure to John and desperately wants to be one to Clementine (Paltrow) when she enters the picture. It all but gets spelled out for us when Clementine asks Sydney about his family. Sydney divulges that he has a son and daughter who he never sees anymore. Clementine is a prostitute so she initially sees Sydney's motivations as sexual. Even John who knows Sydney really well by this point is unsure of his intentions with Clementine. Sydney quickly squashes any perceptions of impure motives. For a moment we get to rest in the pureness of the relationship of these three individuals. Two despondent souls who are getting affection and understanding from a fatherly figure who still has an aura of mystery surrounding him, but undoubtedly wants something more for these two individuals.

When the main conflict in the story comes we further see how invested Sydney is in these two, particularly John. If you were not wondering what Sydney's motivation for committing to them before this point, you have to be after. The first time I watched this film at multiple points I thought he would simply remove himself from the situation. When he didn't I had no idea why someone would put their neck out this far for someone who had begun to take part in criminal activity. After the situation calms we get another great scene, this time between Sydney and Jimmy (Jackson). We had met Jimmy previously. He is someone who has befriended John but had less then endeared himself to Sydney. He kind of loomed over Sydney and John's relationship throughout. He is not scene much to this point but is mentioned on multiple occasions which definitely gives off the vibe of “up to no good”. The scene starts slowly, with Jimmy simply inquiring about John under the pretense of making sure he is okay. Sydney plays along for a bit, the whole time waiting for the other shoe to drop. Sure enough it does, culminating in us getting the bomb on us we have been waiting for. This revelation explains very clearly why Sydney is so attached to John but clears up little else. The next two or three scenes are quite satisfying. In true Anderson fashion he gives us some closure but leaves enough loose threads for us to pull at as we please as well.

Hard Eight is not my favorite Anderson film. I do think it is an under rated one though. Maybe if it had been my first one to watch I would not feel this way. Watching it now I can see so much of the brilliance that is to come. However it also stands firmly on its own as an outstanding film. I strongly recommend checking it out if you have been reluctant to do so for any reason.
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@seanc I know I'm almost 2 weeks late but I've finally managed to rewatch Hard Eight. I'll get my probably thoughts up tomorrow.

Are you down to do Boogie Nights this weekend?
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Originally Posted by Iroquois
To be fair, you have to have a fairly high IQ to understand MovieForums.com.



@seanc I know I'm almost 2 weeks late but I've finally managed to rewatch Hard Eight. I'll get my probably thoughts up tomorrow.

Are you down to do Boogie Nights this weekend?
For sure, actually watching it tonight. I didn't watch Hard Eight but I will watch everything going forward. Hopefully more people will join as we get to the big dogs.



Holy crap i missed this thread Was only on like twice in a couple of weeks and since this never got alot of posts i never saw it. I'm finishing The Gospel According To Matthew shortly but i'll try and watch it tomorrow if possible.



Hard Eight




Certainly a flawed start from PTA but i do think it is very impressive from someone this age and it is entertaining. Hadn't seen it in about 3 years and i think i liked it slightly more this time.

Phillip Baker Hall is so so good in this, think PTA owes alot to his performance in how well this turned out. He has such a commanding presence in the film Gwyneth Paltrow early on calling him a "captain" is pretty spot on; there's another film that i'm blanking on at the moment where a character is described as "when he talks no matter what it's about you feel like it's important", that's Sydney to me. For alot of the film it's a very understated and mysterious performance as you aren't really clear what he is thinking or what his intentions are it works in contrast with the lovable yet kinda dim and easy to read John; which is pretty much the standard role for Reilly now. This did make me miss Reilly working with PTA, hope they work together again in the future; kinda feel like Reilly shouldn't work in PTA films but he does in the three he is in. Reilly's character is alot of fun which i think has as much to do with Reilly as it does this writing; even in situations that he shouldn't he cracks me up like when Sydney turns up to the room they have the guy hostage he says "so everything is cool" to Sydney on the other side of the door. I also love that his character could be described as "accidental pimp" . The father-son angle is kinda meh but it works because both are really good together.

Clementine is the weakest character in my opinon. Paltrow does a good enough job i just think this was PTA's first attempt at writing a female character something alot of men never get right and she turned out a bit of a bore. She's a little plain and typical and i don't think her relationship with Sydney is that interesting. Sam J is solid, his character isn't amazing but he's entertaining like he almost always is. His scenes with Sidney might be the best in the film, i really love the gunpoint scene when Sidney really confuses everything "when do you want it?", it's like a who's on first? routine haha. My only complaint about Jimmy is he doesn't have much character and his role reveals how disjointed and i dunno empty the film is, he's just there to tie everything together with a random conflict at the end, and i'm not really a fan of the reason Sydney took to John would have preferred it to be left up to the viewer personally. Still the whole scared act Sydney plays through to him smoking his cig at the diner like a badass is great.

So yeah, not got anything that interesting to say about this, entertaining film and a very good debut. Oh i also really enjoy the soundtrack, kinda feels by the numbers but it livens up certain scenes.

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My mini review from a while back:

'Hard Eight' (1996)


This is a peach of a movie. There's no other way of saying it. Paul Thomas Anderson's first ever movie feels like it should be his fifth or sixth. His camera movement, tracking shots, close ups etc are all brilliantly done and the film overall feels like a neatly done Scorsese / Cohen Brothers collaboration. Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly and Gwyneth Paltrow were all excellent and helped to create a mix of naivety, mishap and tragedy.


Some Directors take years to learn their craft, others are just born with it and PTA demonstrates his freakish talent right out of the blocks in this one.

The film has also not dated. It feels like it could have been made in the last few years.

Excellent.





Hard Eight (1996)


Paul Thomas Anderson's Hard Eight is a solid debut from the young director. Based on his 1993 short Cigarettes & Coffee. The film follows a gambler named Sydney (Philip Baker Hall) who meets a man named John (John C. Reilly) and takes him under his wing to teach him about gambling. The film also stars Gwyneth Paltrow as cocktail waitress Clementine who later starts a relationship with John, and Samuel L. Jackson as John's friend Jimmy.

The film features strong performances from Hall and Reilly, both of whom would later appear in PTA's Boogie Nights and Magnolia. Paltrow and Jackson are also good in their roles and PTA's script is great, alongside his good directing and cinematography, including PTA's signature tracking shots.

Overall, not a lot I can say about this except that its a solid debut from one of the best currently working directors.