Main Cast: Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow, Samuel L. Jackson, F. William Parker, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Release Year: 1996
Country: US
Run Time: 101 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Before his commercial breakthrough with Boogie Nights (1997), writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson made this low-key drama. John (John C. Reilly), a half-bright loser stranded in Reno, is down to his last few bucks when Sydney (Phillip Baker Hall), taking pity on him, buys him breakfast and offers him a few tips on making money in the casinos. Two years later, John has become Sydney's partner, but his lack of common sense goes from problematic to dangerous when he falls in love with Clementine (Gwyneth Paltrow), a cocktail waitress who isn't above turning a few tricks when she needs to make money -- and isn't any brighter than John. Hall and Reilly, both first-rate character actors, are cast in rare leading roles, and Paltrow is cast strongly against type as a part-time prostitute with a serious lack of street smarts. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Filling the gap between the violent chic of Quentin Tarantino and the clever obtrusiveness of the Coen Brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson was one of the most critically lauded filmmakers to emerge in the late 1990s. Before the stylistic explosions of his breakthrough Boogie Nights (1997) and its follow-up, Magnolia (1999), however, he made the equally skillful Hard Eight (originally titled Sydney). Barely released in theaters, the film was rediscovered on video following the success of Boogie Nights. In this first outing, Anderson asserted his strength at working with actors: at the heart of the film is the assured performance of Philip Baker Hall as a melancholic Las Vegas father figure. Gwyneth Paltrow successfully plays against her nice-girl image as the film's none-too-bright prostitute, and John C. Reilly and Samuel L. Jackson round out the intimate cast. Prior to Hard Eight, Hall's best-known big-screen performance was his stunning interpretation of Richard Nixon in Robert Altman's Secret Honor (1984); he and Reilly would continue to appear in Anderson's films. ~ Brendon Hanley, All Movie Guide
Christine Sheaks - Casting, Daniel Lupi - Co-producer, Mark Bridges - Costume Designer, Paul Thomas Anderson - Director, Barbara Tulliver - Editor, Michael Penn - Composer (Music Score), Jon Brion - Composer (Music Score), Nancy Deren - Production Designer, Robert Elswit - Cinematographer, Hans Brockman - Producer, François Duplat - Producer, John Lyons - Producer, Robert Jones - Producer, Paul Thomas Anderson - Screenwriter
The film, originally titled Sydney, was Anderson's first feature; Hall, Reilly, Ridgely, Hoffman and Walters acted in Anderson's subsequent films. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival.[1]
Sydney, a gambler in his 60s, finds a young man, John, sitting forlornly outside a diner and offers to give him a cigarette and buy him a cup of coffee. Sydney learns that John is trying to raise enough money for his mother's burial. He offers to drive him to Las Vegas and teach him how to make some money and survive. Skeptical at first, John agrees.
Two years later, John, having gotten the money for the funeral, has stayed in Reno and become Sydney's protégé. John has a new friend named Jimmy who does security work and is attracted to Clementine, a cocktail waitress. John and Clementine get married, but Sydney gets a frantic late-night phone call. He arrives at a motel to find the newlyweds holding hostage a customer who refuses to pay for the services of Clementine, who moonlights as a prostitute.
Sydney handles the situation. He then advises John and Clementine to leave town and head to far-away Niagara Falls for their honeymoon.
After the two leave, Sydney is confronted by Jimmy, who demands a large amount of money. He knows something about Sydney and threatens to tell John if necessary -- that Sydney is the one who killed John's father.
Sydney acquiesces. He pays the money, but later he sneaks into Jimmy's house and shoots him.
Connections to later P.T. Anderson films
In the scene where Jimmy tells Sydney that he knows about the murder of John's father, he mentions that he heard about it via some other men, including "Floyd Gondolli" and "Jimmy Gator." These are the names of characters that Philip Baker Hall would later play in Boogie Nights and Magnolia, respectively.
