The Sting

As The Jester quickly approaches the end of his first year of daily movie reviews, I figure he’s got to be getting a little worn down. Jester – consider this my gift to you – a day off!

Flipping through the channels last night, I stumbled across The Sting playing on Retroplex. Jester has referenced many a movie over the last year that he will drop everything for to watch if it’s on, even if he’s already seen the movie a dozen times. For me, The Sting is one of those films. It was filmed in 1973…it’s based in the 1930’s…and it just has a timeless feel about it. At a high level, the film is about con men, but after you’ve seen it a few times you appreciate that there is so much more to it. For me, there are three elements that stand out above the rest. First – the intricacy and complexity of the plot. The main character is Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford), a small time con man who frivolously wastes every score he collects. As the movie progresses, Hooker is essentially trying to juggle four “secret lives” at the same time: working with Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) and his crew to run a “big con” against Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw), pretending to be turning against Gondorff to gain Lonnegan’s trust, running from the Joliet cop who has been chasing him for years without letting his Gondorff know for fear of losing his spot in the “big con”, and reluctantly working with the FBI against Gondorff to clear his name. Confusing? Maybe. The first two times I saw it I had trouble connecting all the dots. Trust me when I tell you that I’ve now come to fully appreciate the flawlessness with which they pulled this all off. In the end, there isn’t a loose string left hanging anywhere, and they’re brilliant in the way that it all ties together. The second element I’m really impressed with is the cinematography. I wouldn’t call myself a “film geek”, but even I have come to appreciate the set-up of some of the shots in the movie. Two that stand out: a scene where Hooker is peering over the shoulder of one of Lonnegan’s bodyguards, he and the bodyguard both had to his specific marks so you can barely see Hooker’s eyes as he sizes up the much larger bodyguard, and a scene where there is action set in front of a storefront window, and just when you think that scene is over they zoom in on the window itself and you realize that there one of the con men monitoring the action from a 2^nd story apartment across the street. These are subtle touches, and in today’s film world they’d probably be done with CGI instead of slick camera work and direction. The third element I’m always impressed with is the on-screen chemistry between Paul Newman and Robert Redford. It’s not a “bromance” kind of chemistry, so don’t take that the wrong way. These guys are the epitome of the “buddy movie” pairing. They work so well together, they seem like a natural fit. In the movie, Gondorff and Hooker clearly have the “Mentor/Mentee” relationship, and I have to believe that same relationship existed between Newman and Redford in real life, as well. It’s always fun to see two masters of their craft working side by side.

So, the next time you’re flipping through the channels and you see The Sting listed in the channel guide, give it a shot. You will not be disappointed. 

Dean-O guarantees it.

NBM rates The Sting - Phenomenal