Hamlet of the pool hall

Rating: 10/10 (13 March 2013)

Character is the word Bert Gordon, businessman and gambler played by George C. Scott, uses to sum up why he thinks pool hustler Eddy Felson (Paul Newman) is a loser. He explains that although skillful, Eddy doesn't have the character to win, and has ready-made excuses for losing rather than face the flaws within himself.
It is the theme that runs through this powerful film; the game of pool tests Eddy's character but so does his relationships with the people around him, and Eddy is found wanting. He has little loyalty to others and not much for himself; his one desire is to be the best pool player in the country.
Although there are a number of pool games in the film, the one that stays in the memory is the first game against reigning champion, Minnesota Fats, with Jackie Gleason's portrayal just about stealing the movie. Filmed in a famous New York pool hall, Rossen takes us into a world that is almost separate from the life of the city around it.
The duel with Minnesota Fats goes for nearly two days, and draws an audience of gamblers and pool devotees. Throughout the game, Eddy is strutting and voluble. He announces his thoughts almost as though they were Shakespearean soliloquies. He is so driven that it is a performance that rivals "Hamlet" for intensity. Paul Newman's performance goes close to being too much but it fits perfectly within the heightened atmosphere that Rossen has created.
By contrast, Minnesota Fats is a model of restraint. He stays cool and goes about his game in a business-like manner. Both men drink but Minnesota Fats handles it better. He also refreshes himself from time to time while Eddy looks disheveled and beaten – the result is inevitable.
Eddy meets Sarah Packard, played by Piper Laurie, who gives such a heart-felt performance that it is almost too painful to watch. But Eddy still has a difficult journey to make and it is not until tragedy takes him to his lowest point that he shows the character that Bert Gordon said he would never have.
"The Hustler" is one of the best movies from a period, which I think was the most fertile for dramatic film in the history of cinema, the 10 years between 1955-1965. At the time, we took it for granted that those films would be challenging, passionate, thought provoking, and possibly even disturbing. Every era of cinema produces great movies but there just seemed to be so many good ones in the field of drama right then.
Society was changing and so were films. Talented writers and directors were emerging who had cut their teeth on live television drama. Novels were adapted with subjects that challenged the established order. Plays by people such as William Inge, Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller were translated from stage to screen. Hollywood was also heavily influenced by ideas coming from Europe – Italian Neorealism with the emphasis on real locations, the French New Wave, and a group of powerful dramas from Britain. Independent production was replacing the old studio system. And to see the impact Marlon Brando and 'The Method' was having on drama, look no further than Paul Newman's performance in "The Hustler".
But there were other forces. The McCarthy era had either exiled or embittered a large group of writers and directors, a number of whom started to re-emerge towards the end of the fifties and early sixties; their screenplays and films expressing some of the pain they had endured.
The other strong force was the Motion Picture Production Code. Despite the fact that filmmakers railed against it, the parameters it set actually made them more resourceful – what couldn't be shown could be alluded to with symbolism and metaphor.
These factors no longer exist but they did have an affect on Robert Rossen back then. Much of what happens in "The Hustler" was allegory for the ills he felt ailed society, and the meaning of real character permeates the film.
Although there is a lot more to the movie, "The Hustler", and especially Minnesota Fats have become synonymous with the game of pool. "The Hustler" deserves all the praise it has received over the decades, it is a film that rewards any number of viewings.