
Entertainment Weekly
Gamblers live for the moment - for the next bet, the one that will take them over the top - and this gilt-edged noir contraption is an enjoyable wallow in life-is-a-craps-table existentialism.
Full reviewPhilip Baker Hall and John C Reilly star in Paul Thomas Anderson's feature debut as gamblers—one a professional, the other a broke loser hoping to learn the tricks of the trade. It all seems to be going well until a cocktail waitress (Gwyneth Paltrow) walks into their lives. Co-stars Samuel L Jackson and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Gamblers live for the moment - for the next bet, the one that will take them over the top - and this gilt-edged noir contraption is an enjoyable wallow in life-is-a-craps-table existentialism.
Full reviewIt's done with such intelligence and feeling, and such a brilliant cast, that it grips our attention from first shuffle to last bet.
Full reviewAlthough it tries to be clever, knowing and gritty, Hard Eight is never more than boring.
Full reviewThis first feature by writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson is impressive for its lean and unblemished storytelling, but even more so for its performances.
Full reviewJust a soupcon of livelier drama would have improved the proceedings considerably.
Full reviewHard Eight is available to stream in New Zealand now on Google Play and Apple TV.
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