Name: Hard Eight
Genre: Drama, Crime
Released: 1997-02-28
Duration: 102 min
Rating: 6.8
Cast: Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow, Samuel L. Jackson, F. William Parker

Hard Eight

A Question of Intimacy and Intentions

Sydney Here's a robe and some stuff for you.

Clementine Captain?

Sydney Yeah?

Clementine Do you wanna fuck me?

Sydney Do you think that?

Clementine Well, you brought me here.

Sydney Do you think that?

Clementine I don't know.

Sydney You should know before you ask a question like that.

Clementine Well, you're being nice to me--

Sydney So you'd think I'd want that?

Clementine If you wanted to fuck me--

Sydney Stop saying that.

Clementine It just seemed like--

Sydney Well, don't let it seem that way. This is a comfortable bed for you. I want you to sleep on it...to give you something to--a place to have a nice shower and a bed.

Clementine Don't get angry.

Sydney No, I'm not...because I understand...how you could ask a question like that.

Clementine Now you really look at me as a piece of shit.

Sydney No.

Clementine All right.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Hard Eight

A Brief Exchange Between Sydney and John

Sydney John?

[John has called Sydney to his hotel room asking for help. Sydney knocks, John answers from behind the closed door]

John Sid?

Sydney Yeah. Open up.

John Everything cool?

Sydney What? Yeah, everything's cool. Are you alright?

John I'm fine.

Sydney You gonna open the door?

John I said on the phone, you know... it's kinda screwed up.

Sydney Yeah, so? Open the door, let's see what's going on.

John You promise you'll help me?

Sydney John, it's cold out here, open the door.

[growing exasperated]

John Is everything cool?

Sydney John, open the goddamn door, will ya?

Sydney Now what's going on, John?

John Just - shut the door.

Sydney Why are the lights out?

John Okay, Sid?

Sydney Okay I'm not gonna...

John Let's just leave them off for a second...

Sydney I'm not gonna stand here with the lights out.

John Okay now, you promised you'd help me.

Sydney What is this, John?

John I'm sorry, Sid.

Sydney John, what is this? Who is this man?

John He's uh... he's a hostage.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Hard Eight

Value a man's courtesy always.

Sydney Brown Never ignore a man's courtesy.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Hard Eight

Inappropriate Language in Mixed Company

Jimmy Jesus, we are fucking surrounded by pussy here.

Sydney Hey, hey. Jimmy.

Jimmy What?

Sydney Not for my ears, but hers. She can hear that sort of thing across the lounge. Puts her in a very uncomfortable position.

[nodding toward Clementine]

Jimmy I doubt if hearing she's got a great pussy puts her in an uncomfortable position.

Sydney I just don't want it coming from my table.

Jimmy You may not know this but half the women that work here are take-home whores anyway. They get off on that shit. I got a friend, works over at the Sand Dunes where I work. This man's in charge of corralling waitresses for that sort of thing. He's in charge. He is the pussy patrol.

Sydney Jimmy--

Jimmy What?

Sydney Just, you know--Hey, I live up here. I know what flies and what don't.

Jimmy To tell a babe she's got a nice ass is no crime, believe me.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Hard Eight

The Burden of Professional Expectations

Sydney Tell me something. Are you required to flirt, to behave as you do toward that table of men over there? Maybe... it's some part of your job?

[at the cocktail lounge]

Clementine Uh, they don't say to do it.

Sydney But if you don't?

Clementine Well, then I get questioned, like: "Why were so rude to them?", and, I mean, I can't talk back. I can't tell them to fuck off and leave me alone.

Sydney As a rule?

Clementine I'd also lose the tip.

Sydney Sounds like an occupational hazard.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Hard Eight

Hedging Bets in Uncertain Times

Taglines When good luck is a long shot, you have to hedge your bets.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Hard Eight

Threatening Confidence in Martial Arts Skills

John Finnegan I will fuck you up if you fuck with me, OK? I know three kinds of Karate: Jujitsu, Aikido, and regular Karate.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Hard Eight

Misunderstandings Lead to Tension and Conflict

Sydney Where did this thing go wrong?

Clementine Because he thought that he was smart and I was stupid...and I'm not stupid.

Sydney Well, this is a pretty stupid situation, isn't it?

Clementine We'll see how fucking stupid I am when we get my money, won't we?

Sydney You know the first thing they should have taught you at hooker school? You get the money up front.

Clementine Fuck you.

John Syd, don't talk to her like that.

Sydney I'm having a conversation.

John Don't talk to her like that.

Sydney Shut the fuck up.

John I'm warning you, Syd! Don't fucking talk to her like that! She's my wife! We got married this afternoon.

Hard Eight

Expressions of Love and Gratitude

John Thanks for everything, Syd.

[on the phone]

Sydney There's something I need to tell you. It's something you need to know. It's important. I need to tell you. I love you, John. I love you like you were my own son.

John Thank you, Syd. I love you too.

Hard Eight

Confrontation of Past Actions and Accountability

Jimmy What I mean - what I believe... is that you killed his father... like the stories I heard go. Now, if somebody killed my father... I would feel the need to do something. The stories I heard - you know, stories get around - is that you used to be a hard-ass. You were a hard-ass and you took his dad out, Sydney. So you think - what? You can just walk through this life... without being punished for it? Shit, man. I know all those guys you know. Floyd Gondolli, Jimmy Gator, Mumbles O'Malley. They like to sit around in Clifton's and talk, talk, talk. They love to tell stories. You can sit there and look at me sideways all you want. You probably think I'm some kind of asshole or something... but I'm not a killer... like you. You walk around like you're Mr. Cool, Mr. Wisdom... but you're not. You're just some old hood. The other night in the bar, you asking me a question... like do I do parking lot security? Well, the answer is no! I'm trusted security inside the casino. I'm trusted with security, and I don't fuck it up.

Sydney Good that you have such a sturdy sense of responsibility.

Jimmy Don't! Don't! Don't fuckin do that! You understand? I can see right through that shit! You look at me as some idiot, huh? I know you do. I know you. You old guys, you old hoods... you think you're so fuckin above it... so high and mighty. What am I to you? Some loser? Not with a gun in my hand. Not with the facts I know. Bottom line, Sydney. No matter how hard you try... you're not his father.

Sydney I have the money here. I have the $10,000 here. Not in the bank. I have it here.

Jimmy I knew that. I knew you did.

Sydney I have the money to give you right now, in this moment. I will give you all that I have. Maybe before you were gonna kill me. Maybe. I don't know. I know John, and I love him like he was my own child. But I can tell you this: I don't want to die. I killed his father. I can tell you what it was. This is not an excuse. I'm not begging for clemency. All that matters, I do not wish to sacrifice my life for John's well-being. But I will sacrifice this money for mine because you have asked me. Because after this, I will have done all I can for John and for myself. I'm going to ask you with all the heart and sincerity that I have, please do not put a bullet in me. And, please, don't tell John what I've done. I trust that once I give you this money, you and I will take separate paths and that this negotiation will settle everything. That is my hope. I don't wanna die.

Hard Eight

A Gesture of Friendship and Support

Sydney I have a friend in Los Angeles. Someone... maybe someone who can help. I can make a call for you, tell him you're a friend, so on and so forth, and we can work this thing out here. I think if you need help paying for your mother's funeral, we can work it out. I want you to see that my reasons for doing this are not selfish, only this: I'd hope that you would do the same for me.

John I would. Thank you.

Sydney It's always good to meet a new friend. I'll see you later.

[shakes John's hand]

Hard Eight

The Allure and Risks of Gambling

Taglines If you stay in the game long enough, you'll see everything, win everything, and lose everything.

Hard Eight Quotes