Certification. A
Director. George Roy Hill
Cast. Eileen Brennan, Charles Durning, Harold Gould, Jack Kehoe, Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Ray Walston.
Rating. 80%
Four years after Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, Robert Redford reunited with Paul Newman and director George Roy Hill for The Sting. Despite a widely garnered reputation as one of cinema's greatest pairings, the iconic duo only ever made two films together - Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid and The Sting.
At the time of release, audiences were packing theatres to see the visceral brutality and graphic violence of films like The French Connection, Dirty Harry, A Clockwork Orange, Straw Dogs, The Godfather and Deliverance. But The Sting, by contrast, was a rascal of an old-fashioned crime caper.
Set in the 1930s, in the midst of the Great Depression, The Sting sees Robert Redford star as the inexperienced and reckless grifter, Johnny Hooker, who teams up with the more experienced con artist, Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) to fleece a menacing and uncompromising racketeer, Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw).
The exceptional performances of the three leading actors elevate what could easily have been a good film to that of a great film. But the three main protagonists are backed up by a stellar supporting cast, including Eileen Brennan, Harold Gould and Ray Walston. Eileen Brennan, in particular, excels and her performance lends substantial weight to the characterisation of Henry Gondorff - a veteran of the 'big con' looking to take down one last big score.
Though dated as a comedy-drama, The Sting still looks impressive. The production is superb with sets depicting the seedier side of Chicago - the speakeasy, the back-alley bookmaker and the all-night diner.
In addition, the wardrobe is brilliant with characters dressed in an array of sharp, three-piece suits and accompanying headgear. Harold Gould as Kid Twist is particularly dapper in his Homburg and Spatz. The film rightly earned Edith Head an eighth Academy Award for costume design. Edith Head was a remarkable talent, nominated every year from the inception of the Best Costume award in 1948, until 1966. She was nominated multiple times in these years, ending up with a staggering 33 nominations in total.
In keeping with a bygone era, George Roy Hill uses illustrated intertitle cards with teasing hooks like 'The Tale', 'The Set-up' and 'The Shut-out' to announce the upcoming act. These transitions, accompanied by Marvin Hamlisch's adaptation of Scott Joplin's ragtime piano pieces, give the film a theatrical feel. And Robert Surtees' cinematography employs the creative use of continuity editing, zooms and over-the-shoulder camera shots to immerse you in the action.
The natural chemistry between Robert Redford and Paul Newman remains just as fresh and just as much fun to watch as it was in Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid. The Sting remains an intelligent, inventive and entertaining rouse. Even modern-day heist films, such as Ocean's Eleven, Now You See Me and The Prestige fail to engender the same inherent charm as The Sting.
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