Hard Eight (1996)

An unknown old man in a suit confronts an obviously troubled young man in front of a coffee shop.
He offers him a cigarette and to pay for a round. Their conversation reveals that John (John C. Reilly) is in financial difficulties. The mysterious stranger wants to help him without demanding anything in return. After short hesitation John accepts the offer. The two become friends.

Thats the opening of "Hard Eight" and the beginning of a succesful career in the movie business for Writer-Director Paul Thomas Anderson. His debut feature from 1996, also known as 'Sydney', is a rather overlooked picture and besides the today's popularity of its director can be considered a real fine sleeper.

It's not a conventional thriller and not so much about plot than it is a intruiging character study.
It is loosely structered but portrays its characters in fascinating detail. In the focus of the story is Sydney, the old, unknown gentleman who is played magnificently by Philip Baker Hall who also appeared in Anderson's following two films. Sydney seems to be a wise, calm but also somehow embittered man whose motivation stays uncertain until late in the movie. It is a strong, restrained performance.

But as controlled as he often seems to be there is something on his mind that he has been carrying around for a long time. We find out that he is an addictive gambler and probably an alcoholic and we wonder how this disciplined, grounded guy could drift into this isolated state he is in. His desire to help other people obviously has some deeper meaning.

Alongside with the naive, overzealous John who follows Sydney everywhere since they first met, Sydney also supports a casino worker called Clementine (Gwyneth Paltrow) who struggles with emotional problems and her messed up life.

All of these characters are perfectly realized. They appear as real, authentic people which is also coming from the wonderful acting by all of the performers. It is a pleasure to listen to the wonderfully written conversations that slowly reveal more and more about this enigmatic character of Sydney. It is an original, well drawn character. The secret of his identity is what drives the whole film.

The conflict starts rather along the way when John introduces Sydney to a friend who Sydney does not trust from the very first moment. This unlikable gangster named Jimmy is played by Samuel L. Jackson whose performance remembered me of his role in Tarantino's Jackie Brown that was probably shot at around the same time.

When John once more gets into trouble and asks Sydney for help Jimmy suddenly jumps in.

Again this is not about surface though it is shot nicely. But the surface just transports the complex emotions inside of the characters. The heart breaking ending is the result of a fascinating portrayal of a desperate man that we have spent enough time with to care for. The outcome is pretty much unpredictable which is of course what makes the film work in the first place.

I had some problems with keeping track of some of the gambling sequences because I did not know the rules of some of the games they played but that is of course my bad and it is also not relevant for the plot. One of these scenes features a short appearance of a mean Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a boorish gambler who taunts Sydney when he loses all his input.

But Sydney does not care about money. He has lost more than that. Gambling is a risky business. Most of the time you are about to lose. But I can tell you, this film is a winner.