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Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Critic Consensus: No consensus yet.
All Critics (36) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (30) | Rotten (6) | DVD (5)
Anderson coaxes top-notch performances from the male leads and also from Gwyneth Paltrow.
It is really little more than a small resonant mood piece whose hard-bitten characters are difficult to like. But within its self-imposed limitations, it accomplishes most of what it sets out to do.
Has ... meaning and truth, not to mention scarred humanity.
There's something almost hypnotic about the way Hard Eight develops -- even in its slowest, most tedious moments, it keeps our attention.
Movies like Hard Eight remind me of what original, compelling characters the movies can sometimes give us.
Best of all is Anderson's sense of character, expressed in dialogue that never strains for effect and in his expert handling of a first-rate quartet of actors.
Hard Eight wouldn't be the compelling story it is without Philip Baker Hall as its center of gravity and values. Anderson wrote the script with Baker in mind, and it's about time somebody did.
A clever, confident debut from Paul Thomas Anderson and a showcase role for character actor Philip Baker Hall.
A near-classic in a minor key, and a must-see for fans of later work.
...a low-key yet sporadically fascinating drama...
This minor Vegas-set drama, about a loser and his older mentor, shows the features that will mark Anderson's better films: love for his characters, taut dialogue at the expense of plot, and fascination with the possibilities of the film medium.
Estréia de Anderson, mostra que o diretor sempre teve talento para contar histórias, embora ainda não tivesse confiança o bastante para criar as belas tomadas e movimentos de câmera que marcam seus trabalhos posteriores.
A gambler takes a hapless fellow under his wing, but when he falls for the wrong woman, their lives could be threatened. Paul Thomas Anderson's feature film debut is a slow-moving but compelling drama. Phillip Baker Hall and John C. Reilly, who would later become PTA alums, play characters reminiscent of their careers as a whole -- Hall a tough, restrained fatherly figure and Reilly a dumb, doe-eyed everyman. Usually these characters are confined to the background, but when PTA focuses on them, they are compelling. The plot isn't much to write home about, and the last-act reveal isn't terribly surprising, but the film marches along inoffensively. Overall, PTA's debut wasn't the harbinger of greatness that one might expect, but it's certainly worthy of his oeuvre.
Super Reviewer
A solid first feature from the praised P.T. Anderson concerning a mysterious figure named Sydney (Phillip Baker Hall) who shows compassion to two aimless young people (John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow) by taking them in under his wing, who in turn get him in the middle of a big mess involving an assault of a stranger. Hall has been one of those actors who pops up seemingly everywhere as a supporting piece, but there is no doubt that this is his show, and perhaps his finest hour, as he keeps the audience guessing as to what he is going to do next all while maintaining a composed demeanor. While far from Anderson's best film, that is a simple story that is very well acted and well-written. It is far from a masterpiece as it tends to drag in sections, but Hall's character makes this worth a view alone.
Shocking and entretaining, Hard Eight is a film with good acting and terrific screenplay.
A commanding performance by Philip Baker Hall is the highlight of P T Anderson's character and mood driven debut.
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