By Jacob Cameron

“Never ignore a man’s courtesy.”

These are some of the first words spoken by Sydney to a man named John over cigarettes and coffee in the film Hard Eight. Hard Eight is Paul Thomas Anderson’s first feature-length film; a feature-length remake of his short film Cigarettes and Coffee. Anderson’s short film was a hit in the industry and received an invitation to the Sundance Institute Filmmaker Lab. Anderson earned enough funding through the institute to make Hard Eight. As of now, this is his most obscure film as Anderson rarely talks about it nowadays. With this in mind, this is not one of his best films, but it’s still very well done.

Sydney, played by Phillip Baker Hall, meets a homeless man named John outside a diner in Nevada. John, played by John C. Reilly asks for $6,000 to bury his mother. Sydney refuses; instead, he teaches John how to gamble. The movie follows Sydney and John’s relationship, John’s whirlwind romance to a cocktail waitress named Clementine, and a harrowing incident involving the three and the $6,000.

Phillip Baker Hall is sorely missed as he was a fantastic actor. Hall brings an air of mystery to Sydney to where you don’t know much about this character’s backstory. There are theories, rumors, and a 3rd act revelation that fills in some blanks with no clear answers. Sydney is John’s guardian angel of sorts; he teaches John skills he’s learned in his life. One of the best scenes is a montage that sees Sydney give John instructions on how to double his money at a slot machine.

John C. Reilly is predictably great, and so is Gwyneth Paltrow as Clementine. Samuel L. Jackson is also in the film, and he channels a little bit of Jules Winfield for the role. This is also a nice-looking film to watch as Reno looks great, and Anderson shows some of his long camera shots. There’s even a cameo from PTA regular Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

The main criticism I have is the length. The movie is 1 hour and 40 minutes, and I feel like this could’ve been longer. The relationship between Sydney and John could’ve been fleshed out more as John could’ve become more arrogant with his success. Something more akin to what Anderson would do in There Will Be Blood. A rather big development happens in the 3rd act, and it seems to come out of nowhere. With an ending that just comes out of nowhere as well.

At the end of the day, Hard Eight is similar to Steven Spielberg’s sophomore film The Sugarland Express. It’s not an all-time great; but the tools to create one of the best modern filmmakers are present. The acting is solid, and it’s a pretty movie to look at across the board. In certain ways, it is a shame that this one is obscure. Hopefully, this will get more love in the future.

3 ½ stars