Henry Gondorff, AKA Shaw, is an A-class conman. He's the best, but a bit of a drunk. Kelly comes to Shaw for help. He wants Shaw to teach him all that he knows. "But," Kelly adds, "I already know how to drink."
Teaming up with Kelly, Shaw picks their mark: Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw). Lonnegan is a wealthy man who likes to cheat at poker. He makes the perfect target.
The con planned out and set up, but it takes time to make it work. Kelly and Shaw are going to bilk Lonnegan for all he's worth by betting on the ponies. However, Kelly has a change of heart and decides to recruit Lonnegan to help con his own partner Shaw, instead. And this is how they will do it: Lonnegan will place a large wager on fixed horse races, and win every time, thus taking Shaw's money. Shaw doesn't know that Kelly is telling Lonnegan who's going to win, so Shaw thinks he's just getting lucky.
The first time is a success. But for Mr. Lonnegan, However, things do not go exactly as he and Kelly had so intricately planned out...
Together again after their previous outing (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), Robert Redford and Paul Newman team up as con men out to score the mother load. Newman and Redford work well together as the conmen, like two old buddies who had been through it all. They remind me of Matthau and Lemmon in Grumpy and Grumpier Old Men. They have the chemistry that makes a good movie even better.
Director George Roy Hill allowed to actors to behave freely and, with that direction, created terrific performances from the entire cast. It too bad that only Redford was nominated for the Oscar because Shaw and Newman also deserved nods as well.
The Sting is a film that is complex, and yes, you have to watch every second if you want to know what's going on. Your attention is crucial! I had a hard time following the plot, and there are a few major twists and turns, to be sure. But what makes the film so great is that around every corner we obtain pieces of the puzzle so totally unexpected that we marvel at their ingenuity.
With a brilliant, if incorrectly dated musical score and terrific performances by the leading men, The Sting is a film that will not only give you laughs, but surprise you right up to the very end of the film.
Plot: 
The screenplay was very well written. The story is interesting, too. This type of film had never really been attempted before, so it was a fresh and inventive film at the time. The screenplay never fails to surprise and shock, right up to the bitter end, and indeed, the end is a surprise. Uh... have I said too much??
Visual Effects:
Sound:
The score (adapted from early 1900's Scott Joplin rag-time piano compositions) may have been out of date for the time period of the film (the 1930's) but the selections are all fun and quirky and make the film more lighter than darker. Had more dramatic music been used (like in the scene where Kelly is running from the police), the film would have had a much darker tone than it does.
Character Development: 
Atmosphere:
As the film opens up, we are introduced to characters that have no parts after the first twenty minutes. But if we don't pay attention, the rest of the film will be lost. The plot does get confusing if you miss even five minutes, so try to stay focused! Some people may loose interest if they don't know what's going on.
Realism:
Warren’s Rating:
Movies it beat out for Best Picture:
American Graffiti; The Exorcist; A Touch of Class; Viskningar och rop (Cries and Whispers, 1972)
8.57/10 Is the movie worth your time to watch?
10-12-05
