One of the best sequences in the classic Oscar-winner, “The Sting,” was the rigged poker game in which Paul Newman outhustled Robert Shaw and set the stage for even bigger scams to come. Now, imagine a film in which crooked card games and grifts are the main course for viewers instead of a mere appetizer. That pretty much describes “Shade,” a slickly entertaining 2003 film that combines high stakes poker, higher-level con artistry, and the highest level of prestidigitation with playing cards.
As with many movies involving grifters, much of the enjoyment for the audience watching “Shade” comes in trying to figure out just what’s going on. For that reason, my plot synopsis will be fairly sketchy so as not to spoil the fun. A crew of con artists (Gabriel Byrne, Thandie Newton, and Jamie Foxx) teams up with a skillful card mechanic (Stuart Townsend) to win enough money at “friendly” poker games to buy into the big game. Of course, their definition of friendly isn’t yours and mine, especially for 2003, with hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars being wagered on a single hand. Still, the crew’s eventual goal is to take down the undisputed champ of the backroom, high-stakes poker circuit, Sylvester Stallone. In addition to being a great player, Stallone is a master cheat, which has kept him on top for a couple of decades. That skill will also make it tougher for the crew to put one over on Sly.
Both the hustles and the card artistry in “Shade” appear quite authentic and with good reason. The film was written and directed by Damian Nieman, an accomplished magician who was a regular performer at the famed Magic Castle nightclub in Los Angeles. (One scene was filmed at the nightclub.) So, the movie includes many close-ups of various types of card tricks and deck stacking. Some of this sleight-of-hand is integral to the plot, while other sequences are just there for the pure entertainment value. Even with the camera focused tightly on the dealer’s hands in these scenes, the manipulations are quite difficult to spot, except on the occasions where Nieman wants the audience to see how the trick is done. The result is a much more detailed look at the magician’s routine than the audience at a nightclub ever gets.
However, “Shade” is not just a primer on card tricks. It’s also one of the better con game movies I’ve seen. Byrne’s crew pulls off several hustles, both large and small, en route to the big game. These grifts, some of them lasting only a few seconds, are as much fun to watch as is the maneuvering that takes place at the big game. One of the best involves a distraction involving a woman in a very low-cut dress who distracts the pit crew at a casino so that an accomplice can substitute a stacked blackjack shoe. Of course, it’s the credibility of the grifters that makes a scam work, and “Shade” boasts a talented ensemble. Vets Byrne and Foxx are ably supported by (at the time) newcomers Newton and Townsend. The movie also features several terrific character actors in one- or two-scene supporting roles, like Dina Merrill, Hal Holbrook, and Bo Hopkins. Even Sylvester Stallone gives one of his better performances, being low-key without putting people to sleep.
When “Shade” tries to go past the mechanics of the various scams and explore the characters’ backstories, the film goes astray. I never really got involved with any of the characters except as players in their different plots and schemes. So, a not-unexpected fling between Townsend and Newton never really registers. Further, the script suffers from a few lapses in credibility, even by the standards of this genre. There is no way that Sylvester Stallone could have stayed alive, let alone won, for years by cheating in games that were often run by mobsters. One stunt that Newton pulls off at the expense of an unfortunate sap expecting a one-night-stand goes well beyond what I could believe.
Somehow, despite a great cast and tricky storyline, “Shade” went directly to video in 2003, thanks to an unfortunate deal that the studio made with Blockbuster Video. But this isn’t an ordinary DTV release; instead, it’s a movie with a talented cast of character actors, solid production values, and a plot that should keep the audience guessing. It certainly holds its own with similarly themed films of that era like “Matchstick Men.” “Shade” isn’t the best con game movie ever made, but it’s probably the best one that most fans of the genre have never heard of.
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