Holy cow, this is a good movie. It’s serious; it’s funny; it’s zany; it’s ironic. Hurry out to see it. (Next up: Saving Mr. Banks)
American Hustle (Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence) – Unique and beautiful, American Hustle is a smartly directed and acted dramedy that is reminiscent of L.A. Confidential with elements of The Sting. The “hustle” is a common phrase for confidence games, as you’ll remember from The Sting. In American Hustle, everyone is a con artist. The ensuing story is engrossing and enthralling. The cast was assembled by writer/director David O. Russell, using his surprise hit Silver Linings Playbook as its foundation.
Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence starred in that Academy Award-nominated film along with Robert De Niro and Jackie Weaver. And while that film felt lighter and thinner than American Hustle, this latest effort will be just as heralded.
At the heart of the movie are Irving (Christian Bale doing a very New Jersey accent and sporting a hairpiece) and Sydney (Amy Adams in her best performance ever, really!). He is a loser who only knows how to con, and he is very good at it. She is a lost soul, who grabs onto Irving in a mismatch made in heaven. She learns the con from the master and masquerades as a British aristocrat complete with a seemingly perfect British accent. How ironic: the Welshman playing an American, the American pretending to be British. They are really good at the little con, scraping by but never getting caught. Then, one day they shoot higher, and the consequences cascade.
They are arrested and meet ambitious, over-the-top FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Cooper). Richie isn’t happy just trapping the grifters; he wants them to help him get politicians and mobsters (the story is loosely based on the Abscam scandal of the ‘70s). There are more complex characters, too. This movie is not lacking for depth. You see, Irving is actually married and has a child he loves. His wife, Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) is a gum-snapping, frank speaking mess of a hustler. Rosalyn knows about Syd and vice versa, and the hatred and rivalry is palpable. And then there is white mayor of mostly black Camden, New Jersey, named Carmine Polito (played expertly by Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner). Carmine is devoted to his constituency, his city, his state, but is no angel. He and Irving become friends, and the con continues. Plus, there is a great cameo in the film that adds even more inside movie irony.
The trip from this point to the climax of the movie is a fun, not-too-confusing journey with serious subplots and danger.
As the audience, you figure that things won’t turn out well for Irving and Syd, Carmine or Rosalyn but you never know. Irving is trying to figure out how they can win while Syd is getting awfully tight with Richie. The beginning of the film sets the tone for the movie when it says “some of this actually happened.”
This is not your ordinary people study. It is a complex layer of personalities, characters, and improbability. I can’t tell you more or you will know too much. So let’s leave it at this: American Hustle is an Oscar-worthy film both as Best Picture and perhaps in all of the acting categories. It is not a sure winner at the box office but it is a must-see.