In a sentenceA pool table is just large enough for two men who need everyone to know how good they are
Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) is no longer the hustler he used to be, but he has found a younger talent in Vincent Lauria (Tom Cruise). The pool table brings Eddie’s experience into contact with Vincent’s youthful confidence, with Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) also in the picture. Eddie wants to make use of an ability he can no longer take for granted in himself. That means dealing with the young man who possesses it, rather than simply admiring his play. The game gives them a common interest without settling what either man wants from the other.
Paul Newman and Tom Cruise make this pool-hall drama worth the evening. Martin Scorsese gives their rivalry pace and pleasure, although the heavier confrontations ask the actors to sell more than the writing earns.
Eddie Felson is no longer the hustler he was, and Vincent Lauria has the talent to remind him of it. The Color of Money makes an absorbing drama out of that uncomfortable arrangement, with performances worth watching even when the writing presses too hard. Martin Scorsese treats the pool table as a place where people make themselves known. We recommend it, with a reservation about how insistently the later drama tries to give the rivalry extra weight.
Paul Newman is the reason to stay with it. His Eddie makes stillness interesting. He seems to be considering the cost of whatever is happening, including his own interest in this younger player. The performance allows vanity and good judgement to coexist without making a production of either. We were unexpectedly moved by Eddie’s effort to seem untroubled, because the strain is visible in Paul Newman’s watchfulness.
Tom Cruise makes Vincent’s eagerness entertaining without making him especially agreeable. There is a useful strain of childishness in the performance, a desire to be noticed that stops talent from becoming sufficient reason to like him. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio gives Carmen enough sharpness to prevent the two men from monopolising our attention. She brings a welcome impatience to material that might otherwise become too pleased with its men and their abilities.
Michael Ballhaus’s cinematography gives the pool the attention it needs: skill is legible, and showing off becomes a pleasure to watch. The table matters because the images persuade us to take an interest in what happens across it. Boris Leven’s production design keeps the pool halls convincing enough to support all that visual attention. These feel like places where a man might reasonably imagine that playing well makes him important to everyone present.
Thelma Schoonmaker’s editing gives the contrasting performances room to work; the film can enjoy Vincent’s eagerness without losing Eddie’s more guarded presence. A less patient approach would make the younger man’s energy exhausting. Robbie Robertson’s music reinforces the swagger, occasionally more insistently than the actors need. The pleasure of the game is already there in the images, and the extra encouragement can feel unnecessary when we are quite content to keep watching.
The weakness is in how much importance Richard Price’s screenplay asks us to place on the competition. Its more emphatic confrontations feel worked up to make sure we grasp what is at stake. That is a frustration rather than a fatal flaw, because these actors are capable of making a modest shift in status matter without much assistance. The film would gain from trusting that ability more consistently, especially when its dramatic ambitions become more pronounced.
For a drama about a game, it is usefully interested in how tiresome talented people can be. Martin Scorsese understands the pleasure of watching someone do something well, and the demands that person can make on everyone watching. The 119 minutes are worth giving it, provided a little forced drama does not spoil the pleasure. Watch it with someone who insists they have nothing left to prove.
Most critics respond warmly to The Color of Money, with praise clustering around Scorsese’s visual style and the performances. The pool-hall imagery earns particular attention for making the game lively and expressive on screen. Newman and Cruise draw praise for their performances, with Cruise’s youthful energy singled out. The positive reviews also value the film’s close observation, emotional restraint and Richard Price’s script.
The clearest reservations concern how the drama concludes. The Los Angeles Times finds that the ending falters slightly, while Radio Times considers the confrontational climax unconvincing; both remain firmly positive. The recorded scores span 64 to 85, with four positive assessments, two mixed and none negative. That suggests qualified agreement rather than a sharp divide, although the two mixed entries lack accessible review text, so their reasons for holding back cannot be established.
Errigo finds the film a lively, emotionally measured follow-up, praising the ease with which Scorsese and Newman handle their work. She also singles out Cruise’s youthful energy and the vivid pool-hall imagery.
Read the full review →Benson calls the film bold, exhilarating, and nearly perfect, though its ending falters slightly. She especially praises Scorsese’s inventive, electrifying camera work that turns pool into visual art.
Read the full review →Hutchinson praises the film as a terrific drama, though he finds its confrontational climax unconvincing. He singles out Richard Price’s knockout script and Scorsese’s visual style for praise.
Read the full review →The review is strongly positive, describing the film as keenly observed and immaculately crafted. It singles out the exceptional performances by Paul Newman and Tom Cruise, as well as Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio’s hot, disturbing turn.
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The HustlerAn earlier Eddie Felson, with less swagger and more painful self-knowledge.
Hard Eight · not reviewed yetAnother watchful older gambler finds that teaching somebody creates complications.
The Music RoomPride and performance trouble an ageing man who cannot stop competing.
California Split · not reviewed yetFor the pleasure of watching gamblers enjoy one another’s worst habits.
A ProphetA harsher account of mentorship, where learning quickly becomes a survival skill.
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