There is much more to every Great Movie than the topic at its surface and it is usually something very basic, close to the essence of humanity. Take for instance “The Godfather,” a film that (as I’ve mentioned before) is more about the sublime bonds and occasional deep hate that can only take place between parents, sons and siblings, than about gangsters. The same applies to “The Hustler.” At first sight, the picture may appear like a pool-themed version of “Rocky” where the hero has to validate his existence by participating in a memorable competition of sorts, but the dilemmas here are much deeper than that. Even though it seems to deal with a very particular, sordid world, it includes some very universal themes. That is also the main reason why it hasn’t aged a bit.
Eddie’s predicaments are a microcosm for the goals we set for ourselves and the excuses we tend to make when we fail to reach them. The pool scenes in “The Hustler” are fascinating, but they don’t really matter all that much. Most viewers will only understand the basics of the game and probably won’t know what’s going on half the time Eddie is facing an opponent. We do get to see several sensational shots but in many instances their outcome isn’t even shown on screen and the camera focuses instead on the character’s faces, as when a supposedly drunk “Fast” Eddie easily repeats a seemingly impossible shot to con his opponents in the opening sequence.
The pool games here are much more about the character’s states of mind than about pool itself and the many great truths in the film apply to every walk of life. What’s odd is that a good deal of them are uttered by Bert Gordon, the “villain” of sorts of the piece. When Bert points out such things to Eddie like he was just waiting to get beat by Minnesota Fats in their opening duel, it’s hard to disagree. Bert’s nature is a bit of a puzzle until we get see him reacting brutally towards Sarah when the last third of the movie starts, as she sees right through him. The main question raised by the picture is whether the seemingly remarkable Bert is correct about Eddie being a “born loser,” or that the heavy drinker Sarah is right when she pictures him on the brink of greatness instead. The film’s conclusion provides the answer in a way that resonates at our core.
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