The sports movie's dark underbelly

Rating: 9/10 (17 November 2015)

You get a pretty good idea where "The Hustler" will lead you after witnessing Paul Newman's utter defeat at the hands of pool legend Jackie Gleason (man, it's cool to watch him shoot). It's such a marathon contest that the effects are devastating. And that's only in the first 40 minutes or so, and the depths that Newman has to go to to overcome his personal demons and experience rebirth are gut-wrenching. I guess it'd qualify as spoilers to say he comes back and wins, but not the way you'd think.
This is a fantastic movie - about character, not really pool - and it boasts some amazing talent. Newman, sure, but George C. Scott's a magnetic presence in an unscrupulous role. and Piper Laurie is the painful reminder of the bitter cynical undercurrent flowing beneath all of it.
Outstanding.
9/10