•
Rating:
Paul Newman is Edward Felson, Fast Eddie but now he's no longer young, he's not quick anymore, he's no longer the brash hustler he once was.
Once a reckless youth and an absolute talent at billiards, he finds himself at 60 selling liquor... what a bore!
He's in a bar now, there's a pool table and Julian, a great pool player, his young friend played by John Turturro, asks him for 20 dollars. He has just lost them at the table to an unknown guy, Vince, who really seems to know his way with the cue and balls. The opening feels like a whip thinks Eddie when he hears Vince's sharp, powerful, and precise break shot (Vincent Lauria/Tom Cruise) that scatters the 9 balls of the Pool.
Eddie suddenly awakens, it's all too clear from the start that the kid reminds him of his younger self. The fast one smells money, lots of money. The kid needs to be educated, instructed.
But Vince is a completely undisciplined braggart and doesn't even realize what kind of talent he is... it's easy to sink the balls into the pockets, it's much harder to play that video game where I want to become the best video gamer in the world! ...he says.
Thus begins their journey through various American towns in search of pool halls and patsies to fleece for the Atlantic City tournament. With them is Carmen, Vince's girlfriend, played by an excellent Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio who received an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress. Carmen is much more mature than Vince and understands exactly what Eddie has in mind, with whom she seems to connect effortlessly, but it's not easy to tame Vincent Lauria.
"The Color of Money" is the magnificent sequel to the legendary "The Hustler" which finally earned, after many years of an illustrious career, the Oscar for Best Actor to a formidable Paul Newman. However, that evening Paul Newman did not attend the Oscars to collect the statuette. Too many times he had been nominated without ever winning, even in 1961 for "The Hustler"... and we think he did well not to show up! At any rate, Martin Scorsese masterfully directs this story of talent and madness, of those who want everything immediately, of those who believe they can fly so close to the sun that they burn their wings.
A special mention to a very young Tom Cruise who effectively plays the role of the talented, crazy, and immature young man.
Finally, we like to think that Paul Newman indeed has a lot in common with Fast Eddie... why? because he's the best!
Loading comments slowly
