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9.4/10
FilmFascination Rating
The plot, the style, and the acting – ‘The Sting’ gets it all right. I think this is going to be one of my favourites!
The film is about Johnny Hooker, who plans to seek revenge for the death of his partner as a result of a con they played to steal some cash. The problem was the money they conned was from a rich, powerful man who would do anything to keep his big ego. He takes the help of his partner’s old-time friend Henry Gondorff, who seems to be the expert in this field. It is like –‘Who doesn’t know Henry Gondorff’. Both of them try to perform the biggest swindle on the man who killed Hooker’s partner. Gondorff is the typical old pro you see who makes his last big score.
The poster of the movie says – ‘All it takes is a little confidence’. And man does it live up to its expectations. It is absolutely fun to watch how the “big con” as they say it in the film, takes place. It is intricate. The movie has fun in conning the people around. From deceiving someone into letting them paint a room to constructing a whole fake betting parlor. ‘The wire’, the scam they pull off in the movie, might be an obsolete one but frankly, who cares?
The film is divided into chapters shown by old-fashioned title cards. The pace of the film isn’t quite consistent but perhaps that turns into the movie’s style.
The actors? It wouldn’t have been the same without them. The con artists in the film fit perfectly. But above all, I love Paul Newman in the film. He’s always got this coolness that probably only he can pull off. He would do impressive things in the movie and get that smile of his that would say to you – ‘Yes I did that’. His smile has a warmth that makes you feel that you have known the guy for a long time. But there are memorable performances even besides that. Robert Redford as Hooker, Robert Shaw as Lonnegan, Charles Dierkop as Floyd who pretty much has the same expression throughout the film, and many more.
I thoroughly enjoyed the poker scene in the film which is one of the greatest scenes captured. The acting by Newman, the tense and fun (I know they are contrasting) atmospheres, and the way the scene is shot in that one room. It is a scene to admire. But the thing about Newman is that he has a screen presence that would make anything fun. He has that level of charisma, and he has it in his control to light up the screen.
I would have said that I wouldn’t change a thing about this movie, but it disappointed me in one aspect. The music did not work for me. Something different over there would have resulted in much-amplified emotions. Considered to be a great choice of music by great critics like James Berardinelli, many people have appreciated the score. The film is noted for its use of ragtime melody, but I think that it was a missed opportunity.
Even after that the movie does wonders. In the end, many things pile up and I was a little stressed because I had loved it too much till then to see it crash. It had 10 minutes in it’s hands and I was sitting there with my fingers crossed. And the movie pulls it off in a way I couldn’t have imagined better. At the end of the day, the plot stands as a solid pillar of the movie. It does not break anywhere.
I’ve recently seen so many movies where I love it and then something in the plot ruins everything. It is good to see such a film where everything stays strong from the plot perspective.
It is one of those movies that would please both the experts and the mass audience. This isn’t a feeling I have often, but I want to watch this one again someday.
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