The Hustler, dir. Robert Rossen

The Wiz RECOMMENDS The Hustler I have a confession to make: the only reason I decided to watch this film was because I really wanted to see The Color of Money...which is a sequel to The Hustler. If it wasn't for that connection, I'd likely would have not watched the film. And honestly, that would be a shame: when watching the film, it's easy to see why Scorsese was so attracted to make a sequel to this story. The Hustler is actually a great movie in terms of aesthetics: the cinematography does an excellent job of creating scenes that give the feeling of being in places where desperation is palpable and everything feels seedy and in places trouble would be lurking. What is also a big plus is the excellent score: the slow jazzy tunes that accompany the story is excellent when paired to the visuals. However, this film seems to rely on it's performances to carry the story along. When The Hustler is about "Fast" Eddie and wanting to be the best pool hustler, the film does a great job with the story. But that's really half the film. The other half is a romance between Piper Laurie's Sarah and Paul Newman's "Fast" Eddie. And while both performances are good, the romance is definitely the weakest link of the film. If there is one performance that is the best, however, it's George C. Scott as the scummy business man who ensnares "Fast" Eddie. He plays a heartless asshole businessman so damn well in this movie and he owns the screen when he's on. The Hustler is definitely a good movie in terms of aesthetics and the performances are pretty damn good as well...but the romance does hamper the film a bit since it takes over the more interesting story of "Fast" Eddie trying to be the best.