Hard Eight
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | Release Date: February 28, 1997 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
78
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
1
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
One of the best films of the year. Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesJohn Anderson
Anderson, who makes as impressive a directing debut as has been seen in some time, creates a perfectly modulated mystery that doesn't even feel like one. It's a character play, and Hall, Reilly and Paltrow are so convincingly damaged they take on the properties of fine china. Read full review
90
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Impressive for its lean and unblemished storytelling, but even more so for its performances. Read full review
90
VarietyJoe Leydon
Four excellent lead performances, vividly evoked ambience and a masterfully sustained mood of quiet desperation mark Sydney as an impressive piece of work. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Movies like Hard Eight remind me of what original, compelling characters the movies can sometimes give us. Read full review
80
The New York TimesStephen Holden
The role of Jimmy is one of Mr. Jackson's scarier characters, and this brilliant actor inhabits all four corners of his jittery, avaricious personality. When he and Sydney finally clash, the movie makes its darkest, cleverest turn into film-noir nightmare. Read full review
80
Washington PostKevin McManus
Paul Thomas Anderson shows off the same sort of quirky smarts that Joel and Ethan Coen did in "Blood Simple." Read full review
75
USA TodayMike Clark
We accept the sincerity and altruistic motives of the aging loner he (Philip Baker Hall) portrays in this consciously spare Nevada-set sleeper. [13 March 1997, p. 8D]
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
There's something almost hypnotic about the way Hard Eight develops -- even in its slowest, most tedious moments, it keeps our attention. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson crafts a plot of manipulation and chance, in which some zigs and zags are more convincing than others. Still, his feel for scuzz, for people living at the raw extremes of appetite, is palpable. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRussell Smith
Hall, one of our least appreciated great actors, is mesmerizing as Sydney. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
The plot is bare-bones stuff, weak in story line and bereft of motivation. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Ultimately, the material is so familiar that it's hard to work up any enthusiasm for another trip though the seamy underside of glittering gaming life. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
Noirish thrillers live or die by their plot twists and dialogue -- talk literally being cheap compared to action shots. Unfortunately, the script by first-time filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson fails on both counts. Read full review
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