This is certainly my favourite role from Dustin Hoffman as he turns in an outstanding performance as "Ratso". He hooks up with the dapper, but out of his depth cowboy "Buck" who arrives in New York all set to be a hustler, but ends up paying his first client for the sex she's supposed to pay him for! Initially, "Ratso" fleeces this gullible guy too, but gradually the two start to depend on one and other - which is as well for "Ratso" who is clearly not long for this world. His persistent cough is being worsened by the squalid conditions in which he, and latterly, "Buck" have to live and by their poverty row existence. This is a great story and John Schlesinger tells it with some panache. The relationship between the two men is honest and decent, even though that attribute could hardly be said to apply to either of them when it comes to anyone else: "Ratso" would probably have hustled his own grandmother given the chance. Their bond feels real, plausible - unsentimental and convincing; and the Waldo Salt screenplay ensures that the dialogue - though frequently quite sparing - is both poignant and humorous.
