The Sting (1973)
Decided to start watching all of the Oscar best picture winners, in order. I hadn’t heard of some of these movies, some I love and have seen multiple times already and I actively hate others, planning to never watch them again. Fair warning, there will be spoilers in these and other reviews to help explain my point of view.
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The Sting, which is set in the 1930s, is a caper film depicting the story of an ambitious small-time crook and a veteran con man who seek revenge on a vicious crime lord who murdered one of their gang. Starring Robert Redford as Hooker and Paul Newman as Gondorff. These actors play off of each other quite well and are absolutely gorgeous in this film; it is easy to see why they were MOVIE STARS. They are so cool and charming and act so effortlessly. Winning seven of the 10 Oscars for which it was nominated, it is too bad that neither Newman or Redford won, with only Redford having been nominated from amongst the entire cast.
I have to admit it did take me two times to watch the movie nd decide how I felt about it. The first time, perhaps I wasn’t paying enough attention, but the movie semed to just end without much resolution. I kept waiting for it to build up to something satisfying, like the payoff of the long con we see in the remake of Ocean’s Eleven. The con in The Sting is elaborate and involves a lot of people playing their parts just right, but it is much more of a slow burn, that quietly comes to its conclusion. I say this even though there are shootings at the end, but the ending still feels subdued. This isn’t to say it isn’t satisfying; it is, but in a laid back kind of way. I did appreciate that Hooker decided to walk away from his cut of the money, reaizing he woudl just blow it. This showed that he enjoyed the con, the game, much more than the actual payout.
The ragtime music throughout the film, as well as the outstanding costume design, only add to the overall enjoyment. Once I turned myself over to the film, I truly enjoyed it. Did it deserve to win Best Picture? Yes, but so did some of the other films nominated that year. Of the other nominees, I have seen two; The Exorcist is undoubtedly awesome and a truly scry horror film and American Graffiti is a classic, with a number of great young actors and a somewhat nostalgic look back at a more innocent time in American history. Either of these would have also been acceptable winners, which I suppose is the point, since they were also nominated. The Sting, even though it is a story of con men and murderers, is highly enjoyable and an overall great film. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
