Few movies make it to theaters with as much hype as American Hustle. Director David O. Russell is coming off Silver Linings Playbook, and the main cast is essentially Russell’s “best of” cast of his last two films, including two actors who won Oscars for starring in those films, Christian Bale (The Fighter) and Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) and two actors who were nominated for Oscars for their roles in those films, Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook) and Amy Adams (The Fighter). A fifth actor nominated for his work in Russell’s films also puts in a clever cameo appearance late in the film. Furthermore, it has already been praised by a variety of critics, winning or being nominated for a number of awards for everyone involved.
Set in 1978, small-time conman Irving Rosenfeld (Bale) turns to the big-time when he meets and falls for Sydney Prosser (Adams), and the two form a partnership that bilks people out of thousands of dollars. However, their increased profile attracts the attention of the FBI, including agent Richie DiMaso (Cooper). DiMaso offers the pair a deal: they will not be prosecuted if they agree to help him catch bigger fish. Though Prosser begs Rosenfeld to leave the country with her, he refuses to abandon the son he adopted when he married single mother Rosalyn (Lawrence). However, once Rosenfeld and Presser agree to help the FBI, DiMaso becomes enthralled with making a name for himself by nailing bigger and bigger names in crime and politics, including Camden, New Jersey mayor, Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner). Polito is hoping to secure funds for the rebirth of Atlantic City after gambling has become legal in New Jersey, and is willing to bend the rules to ensure prosperity comes to his district. As you can probably guess, as DiMaso, Rosenfeld, and Presser get deeper involved, the more tangled their goals and intentions become.
Though based on a true story (the opening title card humorously says “Most of this actually happened”), Russell felt it would make a better film if he took Eric Warren Singer‘s highly praised script and fictionalized it. It was the right decision, because this film is very much a salute to the type of crime dramas that film fans adore. Bale and Cooper adopt their best 70s Martin Scorsese film De Niro/Keitel accents, which is incredibly appropriate because so much of American Hustle feels like Mean Streets, Goodfellas or Casino (in fact, I’m curious to see if Russell has out-Scorese’d Scorsese once I see Wolf of Wall Street). By using real events as merely an inspiration, Russell is able to play with and riff on what we all love about crime films.
One of the most clever riffs in American Hustle is how all the actors are cast against type. Though Adams has proven she can do just about anything, most people tend to think of her for her sweet-as-pie characters in Enchanted and The Muppets — and Presser is anything but. Lawrence is quickly taking the America’s Sweetheart crown, but her emotional (often hilariously so), Long Island-accented Rosalyn is further proof that she’s more talented than any other actress her age. Cooper’s pretty party boy image from The Hangover films is practically parodied by his character’s vanity, including a fantastic scene featuring DiMaso having dinner at his mother’s house with his hair curlers in. Action hero Renner is a family man politician. Bale’s character is a doughy tough guy who is emotionally vulnerable, and even Louis C.K. pops up as a — believe or not — pencil-pushing straightman. Among all these great performances are a pair of great supporting roles portrayed by two Broadwalk Empire stars, Jack Huston and Shea Whigham.
However, standing out from all of them is Bale as Rosenfeld. Even from the opening scene — in which Rosenfeld hilariously prepares his elaborate comb-over — it’s obvious that he is a person who is more than he seems. As a filmmaker, Russell understands that three-quarters of being a gangster (and basically everything about being a conman) involves posturing. Rosenfeld might be a suave-talking conman, but deep down he is a softie. After all, he married Rosalyn because she was a young, single mother, he is wary of the effect the FBI takedown will have on the psyche of Americans so soon after Watergate and Vietnam, and he feels tremendous guilt for helping the FBI nail Polito, whom he grows to see as a friend and understands he is only bending the rules because of good intentions. We’re used to seeing movie gangsters who only go soft when they realize that the jig is up, but Rosenfeld is aware that the jig will always end badly for everyone involved the second DiMaso starts calling the shots. It adds a fresh take to the type of film we might all love, but because we love it we’ve seen most of it done before.
Naturally, because this is a movie set in the 1970s it falls into some cliches. I mean, nobody should be surprised that there is a disco scene, which is pretty much a requirement for most films set in the late 1970s. Thankfully, Russell doesn’t delve too deeply into the “how ridiculous did people look and act in the 70s?” jokes. Instead, the main focus here is love, or what is perceived as love. I didn’t count, but the word “love” is tossed around here like middle school students do while signing yearbooks (mostly towards Adam’s character). The word becomes just as meaningless, and it becomes increasingly difficult to figure out who really means it toward whom.
I know it’s usually stupid to complain about the length of a good movie, but in all honesty I thought a number of scenes in American Hustle ran a bit long. Since I Heart Huckabees Russell’s films have gotten increasingly longer, and I hope that this isn’t a sign of things to come for him as a director. It’s always great to see actors cut loose in scenes, but part of American Hustle could have hit even harder if the pacing was tightened because I can think of about a half dozen scenes that kept going long after the point had been established and the actors had done their best work in the scene.
So, is American Hustle one of the best films of the year? Sure, yet while it’s a refreshing take on a well-traveled genre it still is a well-traveled genre. It continues Russell’s hot streak, but in the same way that the cast is made up of some of his best collaborators the entirety of the film seems more like a “Greatest Hits” album than an original piece of work. But there’s a reason why they are the greatest, right?
Rating: A captivating and often hilarious crime film that salutes the best the genre has to offer with a half dozen excellent performances (8.5/10).
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