![]() ![]() Upon closer inspection, there is such an edgy nastiness to the film that makes its purposeful nihilism still feel shocking. ![]() Known largely now for its stinging treatment of pool shark culture and the cool, The Hustler shined a spotlight on the hunky king of that world, Fast Eddie Felson (played of course by a never-hotter Paul Newman). Piper Laurie began doing that in the 1950s as a contract player working with stalwarts like Douglas Sirk, and continued refining this type into the1960s with her iconic turn as Sarah in The Hustler (1961). When it comes to contemporary acting, however, distinct flashes of Laurie’s style can be glimpsed, albeit fleetingly, in the performance styles of starlets such as Carey Mulligan and Michelle Williams - women who are striking, intellectual, maybe a bit bruised, maybe a bit tough – tremulous gamines with hearts of steel. This label is perhaps a bit inaccurate when considering her expansive body of work over seven decades, that stretches across nearly as many artistic mediums – acting in film, television, theater sculpting, painting and now, with the release of her memoir, Learning to Live Out Loud, writing. The first thing I think of when I think of Piper Laurie is ‘Movie Star’. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |