The Sting (Movie Review)

Movie Review
The Sting
1973
Starring: Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Robert Shaw
Directed by: George Roy Hill

Instead of wasting time alluding to the obvious, let’s just say what needs to be said. The Sting is an amazing film. The story is fantastic and George Roy Hill does a superb job bringing the script to life and making the twist-filled tale incredibly life-like. It does have a few problems but it is as near-perfect as a movie can get.

The story begins when Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford) robs a man out of $11 000 by playing a con on him and then splits the money with his partners. One of the men, Luther Coleman (Robert Earl Jones) tells Hooker that he’s retiring from the con game and that Hooker should search out for Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) in Chicago so that he can learn more of the con trade. Problems set in when it turns out that the man Hooker robbed was someone who worked for a big crime-boss named Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw). Lonnegan is incensed by the incident and sends a couple of men to kill Hooker and his friends. When Hooker finds Coleman shot dead, he flees to Chicago to gain some assistance from Gondorff and seek out revenge for the murder of his friend.

Upon arriving in Chicago and meeting with Gondorff, Hooker reveals that he wants to plan a revenge job against Lonnegan. Gondorff is unsure, as he believes that doing a job under such intense emotion will only lead to trouble. He also doesn’t want to take the job because he knows the reach of Gondorff and is concerned about the retribution that may occur. However, in the end Gondorff accepts. The two men begin to devise a plan to pull a con job against one of the most dangerous men in the country.

Let’s get the nitpicking out the way. Most of the acting is top-notch with the notable exception of Robert Redford. He seems to be a bit wooden in some scenes. It’s almost as if he’s mugging for the camera. At least it works in a way because his character is supposed to be a good-looking guy who can charm anyone with just a glance. So it works itself out in the end. The other thing is that is that there are plenty of characters in the movie that it gets easy to lose track of some of them. While it does add to the movie that there are so many people involved in this giant scheme, it becomes easy to forget a few of the people in the fray.

The problems this movie has though are ultimately inconsequential. The Sting has an amazing story and everyone is firing on all cylinders to tell the tale as best they can. Even though the movie was filmed in 1973, it captures the environment of the Great Depression extremely well. This is due to some incredible set and costume design as well as well-done camera work. It doesn’t feel like a movie from the 70s about a scenario from the 30s; it feels way more genuine. It’s as if Hill opened up a window to Depression-era Chicago and managed to capture this remarkable drama as it unfolded.

The story itself is fantastic and even though it has been replicated and copied so many times throughout the years, it still felt original watching it for the first time. Growing up, I’ve seen so many references to the movie without any knowledge from where the source material came from. Writers were either paying homage to the film or stealing its story to come up with a cheap script. There were times watching the film where I recognized bits and pieces that had been taken and used for other movies and television shows. Despite that, this movie still felt fresh. In fact, comparing it to other productions that have copied parts or, in some cases, the entire outline of the story, the original movie is superior to any copycat creation.

The Sting is one of the best stories ever told in American cinema. George Roy Hill did a fantastic job at creating a timeless classic that will stand above most as an exemplary piece of work. It’s almost perfect but where it does have its flaws, they don’t show all that much (I know I’m in the minority about Redford’s performance considering he was nominated for an Oscar but it’s not like the Academy is perfect all the time). If you haven’t seen The Sting, make it a point to do so immediately. If you have seen The Sting, make it a point to go see it again.

☆☆☆☆☆