American Hustle (2013)
THE SCOOP
Director: David O. Russell
Cast: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner
Plot: A con man, Irving Rosenfeld, along with his seductive British partner, Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild FBI agent, Richie DiMaso. DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia.
Genre: Crime / Drama
Awards: Nom. for 10 Oscars - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Leading Actor, Best Leading Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design.
Runtime: 138min
Rating: M18 for pervasive language, some sexual content and brief violence.
IN RETROSPECT (Spoilers: NO)
“You're not nothing to me until you're everything.”
Writer-director David O. Russell is on a hot
streak right now, with a hat-trick of wins that include The Fighter (2010), Silver Linings Playbook (2012) and his latest work American Hustle. It’s safe
to say that The Fighter re-invigorated
his career, while Silver Linings Playbook is to me his best film of the trio and my
favourite movie of 2012.
Considering all of that, American Hustle comes as a slight disappointment. It is a decent film – solid and
well-executed, but it lacks the buzzing energy of Russell’s previous two
pictures. It is certainly his most complex
work to date, but it isn’t as entertaining or hilarious as critics have made it
out to be.
Russell works with Christian Bale, Bradley
Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams again in this ensemble piece about a
conman named Irving Rosenfeld (Bale) and his lover Sydney Prosser (Adams) who
are forced to work with a FBI agent played by Cooper. There’s corruption, betrayal, outsmarting,
loads of lies… in other words, a con-ception where there’s conning, double-conning
and triple-conning.
Russell’s screenplay is a concoction of wild
dialogue and vivid characterizations, and coupled with the period styling of
the 1970s and the astute use of songs of that era, the film recalls the likes
of Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995) and Boogie Nights (1997). In
some way, American Hustle is best
described as Scorsese-lite. It dabbles
with organized crime, though not as extensively (or excitingly) as some of
Scorsese’s best works. But you can see
the homage.
This is a laidback drama with bits of comedy,
and while the sexy and playful tone is consistent, I find that the movie is
unable to maintain its momentum.
Sometimes it builds up dramatically only to let the brewing energy
dissipate, and it never reaches that level of energy or intrigue again. You don’t feel that in Silver Linings Playbook or The
Fighter. Still, the performances
are a force to behold, and I hope to see acting Oscar nominations galore, none
more deservingly so than for the underrated Amy Adams.
American Hustle is worth a trip to the theater for fans of
Russell and the cast. My guess is that
it won’t strike Oscar gold this time, nor is it the most absorbing piece of
cinema this year. But even when the
rabbit is not pulled out of the hat, it does not mean you don’t clap. You just don’t clap as loud.
Verdict: It lacks the buzzing energy
of Silver Linings Playbook and The Fighter, but Russell’s latest effort
is a throwback to the 1970s with a touch of Scorsese-lite.
GRADE: B
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