Film and theatre historian Ethan Mordden has identified The Hustler as one of a handful of films from the early 1960s that re @-@ defined the relationship of films to their audiences . This new relationship , he writes , is " one of challenge rather than flattery , of doubt rather than certainty . " No film of the 1950s , Mordden asserts , " took such a brutal , clear look at the ego @-@ affirmation of the one @-@ on @-@ one contest , at the inhumanity of the winner or the castrated vulnerability of the loser . " Although some have suggested the resemblance of this film to classic film noir , Mordden rejects the comparison based on Rossen 's ultra @-@ realistic style , also noting that the film lacks noir 's " Treacherous Woman or its relish in discovering crime among the bourgeoisie , hungry bank clerks and lusty wives . " Mordden does note that while Fast Eddie " has a slight fifties ring " , the character " makes a decisive break with the extraordinarily feeling tough guys of the ' rebel ' era ... [ b ] ut he does end up seeking out his emotions " and telling Bert that he is a loser because he 's dead inside .