Guy Ritchie may
have, for a while at least, been the crown prince of the comedy crime caper,
but the real king remains George Roy Hill, the man who turned David Ward’s
slick and snappy script for The Sting into one of cinema’s sassiest films. Hill
and Ward structure the movie episodically, weaving together the components of
the con into such a beautifully layered web that the viewer is hooked as easily
as bad-guy Lonnegan (Robert Shaw).
With true
economy of story-telling, Hill rattles from one scene to another, the action
zipped along by Robert Redford’s young buck, Johnny Hooker, and his wily old
mentor, Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman). Both men breathe sizzling charisma into
their characters; these con men work against such nasty types that they’re
almost morality Robin Hoods, albeit with their fingers in the coin purse. And
that those fingers tap to a now-iconic ragtime soundtrack only adds to the
feather-light comedy touch.Guy Ritchie may have, for a while at least, been the
crown prince of the comedy crime caper, but the real king remains George Roy
Hill, the man who turned David Ward’s slick and snappy script for The Sting
into one of cinema’s sassiest films. Hill and Ward structure the movie
episodically, weaving together the components of the con into such a
beautifully layered web that the viewer is hooked as easily as bad-guy Lonnegan
(Robert Shaw).
With true
economy of story-telling, Hill rattles from one scene to another, the action
zipped along by Robert Redford’s young buck, Johnny Hooker, and his wily old
mentor, Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman). Both men breathe sizzling charisma into
their characters; these con men work against such nasty types that they’re
almost morality Robin Hoods, albeit with their fingers in the coin purse. And that
those fingers tap to a now-iconic ragtime soundtrack only adds to the
feather-light comedy touch.
Grade - A+
One of those
instances where everything good about Hollywood just fell into one place at the
right time, it's almost impossible not to get swept up in the vivaciousness of
The Sting as a whole. Magnificent, timeless stuff.
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