The Soft Hustle

I watched this after reading Ethan Minsker's book, Barstool Prophets, and I think the two go really well together-- both explore the hustle of living in the LES of New York. It feels very authentic and gritty, and though it's not as aesthetically pleasing as some of Minsker's more recent work, it's remarkably honest and still enthralling to watch. My experience in New York is vastly different from what's depicted here, but the hustle and thirst for something more I think are still present in the city today. As other reviewers have pointed out, hustle can refer to anything that you struggle to get, so the title works on many levels. Definitely worth a watch.

The Soft Hustle is a movie I would have inadvertently picked up at Kim's Video back in the day, brought home, and thoroughly enjoyed. Although director and actors may not be all that well known, the woven story line and rough, 'yeah, so what?' film making attitude makes for a great movie. The Soft Hustle brings you straight into the Lower East Side bar scene where one night stands, drugs, fighting, and of course, hustling are the norm. I like the title because anything can be a hustle, whether it's getting someone to buy you a drink, trading art, getting laid, or selling guns out of a trash bag on the street. These things are constantly happening throughout the film and all fall under the umbrella of the title of the movie. One of my favorite characters is the bartender, who is a womanizer to the fullest extent. He is all talk n bullshit and even has his prostitute girlfriend believing that he's a saint until she finally gets fed up with him and flips out on his life (one of the best scenes/performances in the movie). Ethan Minsker's filmmaking is very reminiscent of Jim Jarmusch. His camera work and the way he chose to use New York personalities instead of established actors. Jarmush did this as well when he picked Tom Waits and John Lurie for Down by Law. Minsker's writing also reminds me of Hal Hartley in that both directors seem interested in the inner workings of male/female relationships. He portrays conversations extremely realistically, and they come off appearing unscripted. The Soft Hustle is a movie I would highly recommend. I look forward to watching more Ethan Minsker films.

Ok let's get this out of the way...the film is inconsistent at best, the acting ain't great, the story is disjointed and the continuity is all over the place. It looks as if it was made over a period of a few years as the characters gain and lose weight and facial hair.

But in the end, I thought it was a fun little flick! I liked the throwback LES scenes, especially as a born and raised lifelong New Yorker. It's amazing to see the changes of the area. Beyond that it is also a test film for Ethan H Minsker whose filmic development begins here.

I am an unabashed fan of his film and artworks and we can see this is where his style begins. The small bursts of color animation used to draw attention to detail , the hectic, edits and sped up film are not only interesting choices but great features which make this film a must see for film students. It contains great examples of what to do, what not to do while telling a story in film. It's a wonderful example of how guerilla filmmaking can be accomplished on a shoestring budget.

If the lead character is going for "annoying", he nailed it! His repetitive, singsong delivery makes this "film" almost unwatchable. If this is the "LES at it's (sic) best", as the other reviewer said, I can scratch that borough off my to-do list for NYC.

Skip it; you've been warned!