Full of twists and turns and laughs, American Hustle is bolstered by an awesome cast and a distinctly late 70s/early 80s feel.
One thing I love that producers/directors do is when they make every effort to make you feel like you’re watching a movie from a certain time period (Quentin Tarrantino does this a lot in his films, though he also likes to add items to make them feel like they’re from a certain region too, often Japan). So when the film opens up with the old school Columbia Pictures logo, and then proceeds to show the rest of the production company logos as if they were around during the late 70s/early 80s, I was pleased and immediately drawn into the feel of the film. The groovy fonts, the humorous attitude (instead of saying “Based on a true story” like other similar films might do, this film instead tells us “Some of this stuff actually happened”), and the funky soundtrack all made me feel like I was watching a legitimate film from that era, and it definitely added to the appeal of the film. It was fresh and nostalgic at the same time.
The casting was phenomenal, with a few surprise cameos as well (I’ll give away one, and leave the other one a surprise: Louis CK does a hilarious job in his surprise role!). Christian Bale, as crazy as he can be, shows why he is one of the best actors of our day. Gaining a ton of weight and sporting a wicked combover, Bale disappears into his role as Irving Rosendale, con-man extraordinaire. A passionate, clever man, Irving is selfish yet selfless as well. The cons he performs are done to help him out, but he also wants to provide for his son, and eventually to save his new friend. Amy Adams plays essentially the female equivalent of Irving, Sydney Prosser, as well as her alter-ego of sorts, Lady Edith Greensly. For playing both of those roles well, Adams earns props from me. Bradley Cooper plays FBI agent Richie DiMaso, who catches the two in action and agrees to let them go if they help him catch other con artists (this eventually turns into a whole other plot thing, but more about that later). He definitely has his funny moments and plays his job well, but I wouldn’t say this is his best role (he definitely did a way better job in David O. Russell’s other film, Silver Linings Playbook). Jeremy Renner does a fine job in his role as Mayor Carmine Polito, a man with good intentions who ultimately made some poor decisions. However, without a doubt, Jennifer Lawrence steals the show (when does she not?) in her hilarious performance as Rosalyn Rosenfield, a ditzy, nosey woman with too much time on her hands and who cannot keep a secret. As always, she is completely captivating and a delight every time she appears on screen.
As for the story, it’s not the easiest story to follow at times. The plot takes plenty of twists and turns that can sometimes be difficult to keep up with; I didn’t know who was conning who and for what purposes. While I appreciate films that make you think a bit, I also don’t like it when I get completely lost in a film. This is of course just a personal opinion, and I’m sure other people will be able to follow the film perfectly, but for me, this was one of the flaws of the film. The “serious” dramatic portion of the film can be a bit crazy, but the “comedy” portion of the film just does fine; you’ll be laughing throughout the film (mostly as a result of Jennifer Lawrence).
One thing I will say before wraping up is that I loved the focus on hair in this film, and here’s why. The movie is about hustlers and conning people, which is all about putting up a good front. The movie begins with Bale’s character spending a good 5-10 minutes putting his crazy combover in order, intricately folding hair over and gluing it down in an almost ritualistic way. Later on, Adams’s character makes a comment about how Cooper’s character spends a bunch of time curling his hair, and how she can’t really say too much because she does the same thing. These people do their hair because they want to look good and put up a good front, which bleeds into their nature as con-artists. I just thought it was clever and wanted to mention it.
FINAL DIAGNOSIS: 8/10
While the dramatic portion of this film can be a bit confusing at times, the humorous side of the film was on point. The nostalgic feel of the film adds to its charm and appeal, and the acting is pretty great, with everyone (including the surprise cameos) doing a great job. I can understand why this film is getting award nods, but at the same time I find it hard to say with any certainty that this will win Best Picture (it might give Lawrence or Bale another award, but none of the others in my opinion).
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