Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 176: A Gamblin' Man

So it's that time of year again where I wonder whatever happened to that blog about Oscar-nominated films I started a while ago? So yes I'm starting the good old Oscar Challenge Blog up once again and we're back in the 1960s for a film that gives a real feel to how films were changing throughout the decade. Yes because while we were still getting the Technicolor musicals like My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music as well as some mighty epics there were films focusing on different aspects of American life. One such film was Robert Rossen's The Hustler a dingy movie set in the pool halls of America and starring Paul Newman as Fast Eddie Felson. The film essentially is split into three acts the first sees Eddie build up a reputation as a hustler eventually getting to meet the great Minnesota Fasts one-on-one. Eddie comfortably beats Fats but he keeps going unwilling to stop the game until Fats says it over however in the meantime Fats has enlisted betting expert Bert Gordon to help throw Eddie off the game with Fats eventually ending up the victor. Eddie then ends up on a downward spiral only saved through his relationship with the equally damaged Sarah who helps rehabilitate Eddie before the two move in together however Eddie still craves for his former life. Eddie eventually meets up with Bert who agrees to be his manager and the pair, along with Sarah, head to Louisville where Eddie makes enough money to play Fats once again however the cost is his relationship with Sarah. This builds up to an emotionally charged final scene in which Eddie and Fats square off once again however this time there's a personal issue at stake also.

I'm so glad that I got back into taking up this project once again if only so I could watch The Hustler which is everything a film should be from the way it is shot down to the four central performances. Rossen shot the whole film on location in New York using two real life pool halls for the key scenes while he even confused patrons at the bus terminal cafe where Sarah and Eddie first meet. I found everything so engrossing from Eddie's first tour of various bars to the emotionally charged scenes in Louisville and Eddie and Fats' final showdown. As Eddie, Paul Newman gives one of the best acting performances I've ever seen as you can truly see him feel love and pain for the first time in his relationships with both Bert and Sarah. Piper Laurie's upper class drunk Sarah is also a sympathetic character as she slowly falls in love with Eddie despite knowing that it won't go anywhere and ultimately ends up destroying herself. Comedian Jackie Gleason is also wonderfully restrained as Fats portraying a pool player who keeps a cool head in the two scenes we see him in. George C Scott meanwhile is great as the film's antagonist Bert who knows how to get exactly what he wants from people but is ultimately humiliated in the final scene. Though I found the film a tad slow in the middle overall this was a fantastically acted and shot film that was rightfully nominated for a ton of Oscars, including four acting nods, and I really hope to watch more films just like this one as I continue on with this blog.