Hard Eight

Dir: Paul Thomas Anderson

1996

***

Hard Eight may be a little anticlimactic but the continuous mood and intensity really does make for a thrilling watch. Don't get me wrong, this isn't really your stereotypical thriller, it's a lot more, or should I say a lot less than that. Less is more is what I'm trying to say. I've been a harsh critic of Anderson in the past, I have warmed to him somewhat over the years although Boogie nights and Magnolia are still over-hyped in my opinion but I do wonder if maybe had I'd seen this film first I would have seen his work in a different light and no dismissed him as someone who didn't really know what they were doing. Maybe it was fluke, I don't know but I suspect by the time he got to Magnolia he was believing his own hype just that little too much. Since rectified in my opinion but then I'm the only person who didn't like it anyway. Anyway, enough, Hard Eight is an insightful beginning of a director destined for great success.