A L S O_.T O D A Y Blue Glow A "Melrose Place" wedding; female mud wrestling on (where else?) "Ally McBeal" Now Showing New video releases for Nov. 16 R E C E N T_. M O V I E S Living Out Loud Reviewed by Charles Taylor Holly Hunter and Danny DeVito nearly find love in Richard LaGravenese's bittersweet comedy (11/13/98) Hard Core Logo Reviewed by Andrew O'Hehir Bruce McDonald's stirring mockumentary paints a dark but vivid portrait of one band's wavering devotion to its punk identity (11/13/98) The Siege Reviewed by Charles Taylor A fair portrayal of how terrorism is used to justify racism (11/09/98) Elizabeth Reviewed by Laura Miller In Shekhar Kapur's new film, the "Virgin Queen" restrains her passion for men, but exhibits a ravenous appetite for ruling England (11/06/98) Velvet Goldmine Reviewed by Stephanie Zacharek Todd Haynes' flashy ode to the glam-rock era may be 50 percent polyester, but it's full of heart (11/06/98) BROWSE THE MOVIE ARCHIVES COLUMNS FEATURES REVIEWS INTERVIEWS S A L O N E M P O R I U M FREE! 12-ounce bag of Salon Blend with a purchase of $30 or more. While supplies last.

CHARACTER | PAGE 1, 2 - - - - - - - - - - Sydney, the hero of "Hard Eight," craves the fate that petrifies Nixon: to live among the shadows, unnoticed. And yet he can't help but be noticed. He's too much of a gentleman. How could his unassuming decency and formality -- as when he tells a cocktail waitress that she doesn't have to flirt with him in order to earn a tip -- not call attention to itself in the midst of Las Vegas' showy vulgarity? And yet his kindness may hide a lurking threat. "Never ignore a man's courtesy," he says sternly at the movie's beginning, and we're caught off-guard, not knowing if we're hearing the hurt of spurned generosity or the coldness of someone who stores up every slight. We find out. But despite Anderson's revelation of Sydney's motives, Hall still seems to be creating a new archetype in the role: the ordinary enigma. Every line in Hall's face, every sleepless night you can read in his eyes, suggests that Sydney has paid for every bit of knowledge he's picked up over the years, that knowing exactly who he is (and what he's capable of) has exacted a price. Yet, it's not hard to believe that he's still decent enough to want to impart some of his knowledge and help John (John C. Reilly, with his mashed face and trusting, hangdog stare), a young drifter who, when Sydney first encounters him, has been trying to win at blackjack to pay for his mother's funeral. That empathy extends to Gwyneth Paltrow, exuding a spacy forlornness as Clementine, the waitress and sometime-hooker John impulsively marries. "Hard Eight" is a film noir, though what makes it one of the most accomplished debuts in recent American movies is that Anderson aims higher than the bloody flashiness that draws most young filmmakers to the genre. His long takes and extended scenes give his cast time to explore their characters, and they're all terrific. But this is Hall's movie, and in the end it all comes down to Sydney's line, "Never ignore a man's courtesy," which, in the course of "Hard Eight," functions as solid advice, a threat, a plea and an elegy for all the unnoticed men that Philip Baker Hall has made it his business to notice. SALON | Nov. 16, 1998 Charles Taylor's Home Movies video column appears every other Monday in Salon. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - N O W_S H O W I N G [ New releases available Nov. 17 ] Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas More Tales of the City Can't Hardly Wait Dirty Work Fire A Bright Shining Lie Hurricane Streets Passion in the Desert Photographing Fairies Twentyfourseven C O M I N G_S O O N [ New releases available Nov. 24 ] Dr. Dolittle Other Side of Sunday Phoenix Bang James Ellroy: American Demon Dog of Crime Fiction Little Boy Blue