Hard Eight (1996)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Sydney	Philip Baker Hall	½
John Finnegan	John C. Reilly
Clementine	Gwyneth Paltrow	½
Jimmy	Samuel L. Jackson
Young craps player	Philip Seymour Hoffman

Review

Paul Thomas Anderson's debut film is a fine mood piece set in Reno, Nevada about an ageing sophisticated gambler (Philip Baker Hall) and his young, guileless soon-to-be protégé (John C. Reilly). The film has an honesty about the story's unremarkableness which makes it effective, and Anderson's skilful pacing and attractive lighting gives the picture ambience. This is like your down-to-earth, guy-next-door Tarantino. A superb lead performance by Baker Hall paves the way, and Reilly, Samuel L. Jackson and Gwyneth Paltrow contribute some of their most unaffected work – Paltrow with a wonderful character against type.