Paul Newman Starred in One of the Best Films About Losing Ever Made

Director Robert Rossen and adapted from the 1959 novel of the same name, the film focuses on Newman’s character Fast Eddy, a small-time billiards con man who tricks competitors into playing him despite being in charge. Michael Jordan billiard rooms. In his obsession with winning every game at all costs, Eddie is corrupted by money and ego as he rises through the ranks for a chance to play with local legend Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason from Newlyweds). Being on the surface Hustler maybe about a pool player’s rise to the top and subsequent moral degradation, the subtext includes a story about humanity and masculinity, especially in the context of gambling where winning turns you into an arrogant monster and losing leaves you vulnerable and vulnerable. neutered beyond repair.

“Hustler” shows the weight of achieving a dream

Considering that Director Robert Rossen was a former member of the Communist Party and twice asked to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee (the first time citing a fifth, the second time naming names), it is not hard to say that this man was not a fan of capitalism. Fortunately, he was able to therapeutically banish his guilt for denouncing ex-Party members with a strong denunciation of money and its corrupting effects. Money may never have been the primary motivation for Fast Eddie’s monster pool wins, but his need for it to compete puts him in dangerous hands. This can be seen in his relationship with Berta (George S. Scott), a professional player who offers to bet him 75% of his winnings. It’s a terrible deal, but after a rival breaks his thumb and subsequently recovers (with some severe existential crises in between), Eddie’s toxic combination of ego and desperation makes him resign.

The fact that Eddie’s lower-class status causes him to fall into the hands of gambling sharks reduces his brilliant talents to other people’s investments, selling himself as if he were a stock option. However, monetary value is not the only element of capitalism that Rossen and Newman criticize. Relatively early in the film, Fast Eddie actually accomplishes his primary goal: beating the Minnesota Fatties in a fair game of pool. After defeating him and collecting over $11,000, Eddie has a chance to leave. Of course not, as he is no longer interested in winning a simple game. Instead, he’s obsessed with breaking Fats’ spirit by cementing his status as the world’s greatest pool player. They play game after game until the early hours of the morning when Eddie succumbs to his shortcomings and loses everything. In accordance with the reality of capitalist fantasies, at the moment of the realization of one dream, it is necessary to form another, because the realized fantasy is never as sweet as the dream itself.

“The Stripper” shows that addiction affects not only the victim, but also those closest to him

Piper Laurie plays Fast Eddie’s love interest Sar. A drug addict and alcoholic, she represents the ultimate tragedy, stemming from Fast Eddie’s obsession with winning as well as the moral compass he fails to heed over and over again. While most of the film shows how terribly manly men fight for the value of their own ego, Sarah is the only one who sees this world of vanity for what it is: “twisted, twisted and crippled.” These are the words she writes with lipstick on the mirror before committing suicide. One of the strongest lines she repeats towards Bert has to do with his lack of concern for the welfare of the talent he invests in. “Tomorrow doesn’t exist,” she says. “You buy them all today and you buy cheap.” Whether it’s her insistence that Eddie doesn’t ask Bert for more money (all because his ego can’t handle a simple loss), or her insistence that Eddie is a winner (though not for the reasons he thinks he is). ), Sarah represents the terrible extent to which addiction of any kind carries with it those closest to the victim.

It’s passion, not victory, that makes Eddie a winner in The Stripper.

After Eddie breaks both of his thumbs, Sarah treats him while he is still disgustingly obsessed with the games he lost. The broken thumbs in this case symbolize his castration, the inability to see himself as the person he once was. In a heartfelt dialogue between the two that is the emotional basis of the film, Sarah insists that Eddie is the winner, not because of the money he swindles from smaller pool players, nor because of his great talent. It is his passion that makes him a winner, since most people in the world do not have such strong feelings for anything all their lives.

The scene recounts an earlier conversation in the film between Eddie and Bert, where Burt insists that Eddie is good but lacks character. Eddie spends most of the rest of the movie brooding over what that means, only tragically realizing it after Sarah’s death. Character is a feeling, and character is an understanding (like the Minnesota Fats) that playing pool is worth a limited amount of money. In the film’s extremely cathartic final scene, Eddie finally defeats Fat Man the way he wanted, but doesn’t enjoy the minutiae of his victory. Instead, he simply acknowledges the “hell game” being played by the two underground titans. When Burt fights him for a cut of his winnings, Eddie calls him a real loser for being dead inside. Burt banishes Eddie from every big pool hall, which Eddie, his ego crumbling under the weight of what it cost him, humbly accepts.

One of the most wonderful things in Hustler is the fact that it is one of the first major sports films to end on a note of surrender, demonstrating the importance of having to accept reality and not succumb to the subjective extremes that victory and defeat do to a person. When it comes to gambling, most wins result in a boastful degradation of character, while most losses go far beyond the material. True victory isn’t even about getting up again and fighting to the last breath, as many sports films claim. The real victory is knowing when to leave. After all, it’s just a game.