Hard Eight (1997)

 With 'The Card Counter' I thought I'd already seen my smart story about 'an older gambler taking a troubled young man under his wing' movie for the year. Interestingly both these films are helmed by writer/directors named Paul, the first Paul Schrader, and the second 'Hard Eight' by Paul Thomas Anderson in his first feature film. There is so much raw talent on display in 'Hard Eight', and while it at times resembles the early work of Quinton Tarantino (an appropriate comparison often made), Anderson gives his work a subtler more reflective tone. Featuring Sam Jackson (Tarantino again), John C. Riley and Gwyneth Paltrow, the stand out performance is given by Philip Baker Hall, then in his mid 60's and arguably the best part he's ever been given, Richard Nixon excepted. Though I had not known this going into the movie, it turns out it's also a kind of a Christmas film, in addition to being a worthy character study of the marginalized, a signature theme of Paul Thomas's work. ****