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Rating: 5 out of 5
Have you ever been conned before? I’m talking about losing either money, food, or anything else. I feel like Vegas is a place where people get conned the most. God damn, casinos and the house consistently winning. How about the street hustlers with the card game? You will never win at that game. People have been conned for years, and it won’t stop anytime soon. Boy, oh, boy, do I have a movie for you that I was surprised about and has to be one of the best movies I have seen in a very long time. The 1973 movie, The Sting, was a phenomenal movie that was nominated for ten Oscars and won seven of them, including Best Picture.
During the Great Depression, Johnny Hooker (Redford) is a small-time grifter who cons $11 grand in cash in a pigeon drop from an unsuspecting victim with the aid of his partners Luther Coleman and Joe Erie. Luther is killed when it was learned that the money belonged to vicious crime boss Doyle Lonnegan (Shaw). Before Luther passed away, he stated that he should find an old friend, Henry Gondorff (Newman), in Chicago to learn “the big con.” Hooker finds Gondorff and asks for his expertise in taking a large sum of money from Lonnegan rather than killing him. Hooker and Gondorff devise a plan for the ages and recruit a talented group of other con artists who want in on the money. With the stakes high, the pair must navigate the playing field and use all their skills to con Lonnegan out of his money.
I want to say that this movie was phenomenal in the storytelling. It wasn’t hard to follow, and you understood what the mission was. What I liked about how the story was presented was that it was done in different segments. Each segment was named and dedicated to a particular part of the con that Shaw and Kelly were going to do. In the “Set-Up” segment, the group puts their plan in order and thinks of the best way to con the main villain out of his funds. The story then proceeds to the Hook, The Take, and other sections of this glorious plan.
The story is also amazing because it shows how Shaw and Kelly con Doyle out of everything. The first and best way was the poker game. That was entertaining as Shaw plays Doyle and beats the man at his own game. Shaw is straight up hustling and taking that bag. When Doyle gets picked and tries to rig the game, Shaw, being the outstanding con man, is a better cheater. The fooling Doyle is well done as they get all his funds from a fake racetrack. That is baller mode.
Where this movie also excels is with the suspense. When Kelly is picked up and dropped off after meeting Doyle, he is dropped off. He walks up the stairs until he notices something, and an assassin pops out. Kelly runs down the steps like a freakin jackrabbit. It seems like Kelly was targeted a bunch. Now the twist came when he hooked up with the restaurant worker, and she was an assassin. When homeboy came out of the background and shot the woman, I thought he would also kill him.
The costumes are by far fantastic. It felt like the film was done in the 20s, 30s, or even 40s. I love that gangster style with the fedora hats, suspenders, and suits. That is one of the highlights of the film. The costume department needs to be given major props because they had Redford in some colorful ass suits. It’s okay to wear that black one, but damn, son, where did you get that red one from? Looking like a red caramel apple. You couldn’t find any less colorful outfits? That is why you were always getting shot out because they could spot you.
The cast was phenomenal also. Robert Redford is the star of the film and the one they put out in full force. He was fantastic as the one who wanted to get revenge on Doyle. Honestly, I liked Paul Newman as Henry “Shaw” Gondorff way better. He was less cocky and seemed way more chill. He was the mastermind behind the whole thing and was the one who calmed everyone down. Finally, Robert Shaw, as Doyle Lonnegan, was the perfect antagonist. Shaw had an intense look about him that made you not want to mess with him. He just seemed angry all the time. Smile once in a while. It won’t hurt. Actually, you lost half a million dollars; I would be pissed also.
The Sting is one of the best films I have seen in a while. It is one thing to do a movie about conning a man out of his funds. It is another thing to make it an entertaining film where they straight hustled the man. Redford, Newman, and Shaw were incredible in their respective roles. How about the costumes? Gotta get me a suit like that. Please watch this film because it is an instant classic.
