Hard Eight (1996)
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A senior gambler and a homeless man form an unlikely bond that leads to a series of dangerous complications in the Nevada gambling scene.
The story
Sydney Brown, a well-dressed senior gambler, encounters John Finnegan, a homeless man in his mid-20s, outside a diner in Sparks, Nevada. After Sydney offers John a cigarette and coffee, John reveals he needs money for his mother's funeral. Sydney takes John to Las Vegas, where he teaches the younger man how to gamble with a small amount of money to secure a room and amenities. Two years later, the two have become close friends and allies in Reno, where John has a new friend named Jimmy and is involved with a local woman named Clementine.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Sydney Brown, a senior gambler, takes a homeless man named John to Las Vegas to teach him the ropes of gambling. Two years later, they are in Reno where John has become Sydney's protégé. When John and his girlfriend Clementine are caught holding a tourist hostage over a debt, Sydney helps them flee the scene. Later, Sydney is confronted by John's friend Jimmy, who demands money in exchange for not revealing Sydney's past. Sydney provides the cash, and after a tense exchange of words with John over the phone, Jimmy takes the money to a casino. Sydney later sneaks into Jimmy's house, kills him, and takes his cash, eventually returning to the diner where they first met, hiding his bloodstained clothes.
- Original title
- Sydney
- First release year
- 1996
- Runtime (minutes)
- 102
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- Writers
- Paul Thomas Anderson · writer
- Cast and characters
- Philip Baker Hall · Sydney Brown; John C. Reilly · John Finnegan; Gwyneth Paltrow · Clementine; Samuel L. Jackson · Jimmy
- Genres
- crime; drama; neo-noir
- Themes
- mentorship; loyalty; gambling
- Tone and mood
- understated; mood piece
- Premise and plot tags
- crime; drama; gambling; neo-noir
- Source material / true-story basis
- Cigarettes & Coffee by Paul Thomas Anderson
- Reception
- The film received generally favorable reviews, with critics praising the understated acting and the development of compelling characters.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 78 · scale: 100 · review count: 14
- Production trivia
- The character Sydney was named after Philip Baker Hall's role in Midnight Run.; The film was influenced by and shares some plot elements with Jean-Pierre Melville's 1956 film Bob le flambeur.; Nicolas Cage was offered a role in the film but declined.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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