"American Hustle" is essentially the All-Star version of an Oscar-level prestige film. Acclaimed director David O. Russell has combined the award-winning casts of his two previous films into one unbeatable mega-ensemble. Christian Bale and Amy Adams from "The Fighter" join Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence from "Silver Linings Playbook", as well as stellar supporting players like Jeremy Renner and Louis C.K. to create one of the most exciting, dynamic, quintessentially American films to hit cinemas this year.
The first thing you should know about "American Hustle" is this: it's a comedy. This fact may not be readily apparently from the film's previews, but blame that on the advertising execs. Not just a crime drama, "Hustle" is an uproarious pastiche of a crime drama. Russell (who also co-wrote the screenplay) delights in the excesses of the genre's clichés as much as the production designer clearly delighted in the excesses of the film's 1970s period setting. The snappy dialogue and hairpin twists that populate this movie are every bit as insane as the velvet suits and hideous toupees Christian Bale wears, and it's delicious.
The film's focus ping-pongs around throughout its cast, highlighting each one in turn and showing how they all "hustle" -- some for respect, some for love, some just to survive. Bale is Irving Rosenfeld, a smalltime con man who's forced into a deal with the FBI after he's busted. Bale eschews his muscular tough-guy image from the "Dark Knight" films in favor of an overweight, surprisingly sensitive schlub. Twice famous for losing weight for roles (for both "The Machinist" and "The Fighter"), here he gains a considerable number of inches around the waist. Amy Adams is Sydney, his enigmatic lover/partner who's drawn to Irving's confidence. She's a strong woman who isn't afraid to go after what she wants, often savagely. Bradley Cooper is Richie DiMaso, the FBI agent who ropes Irving and Sydney into helping him bring down other conmen. Cooper is surprisingly the wild card here -- his DiMaso is an unbalanced control freak who slowly reveals himself to be even more immoral than the criminal he's working with.
Jennifer Lawrence is given the least amount of screen time of the four main actors, but she easily steals the film with one flick of her booze-and-cigarette-clutching fingers. As Rosalyn, Irving's unstable, lonely, alcoholic housewife, Lawrence is utterly unpredictable and a thrill to watch. With her zany personality and pithy one-liners, she once again proves why she's the most exciting actor of her generation. Her all-but-guaranteed Oscar nomination for this role will be her third, making her the youngest actor to achieve the most nominations by the age of 23 (if she won, she would only be the sixth actor in history to win Oscars in two consecutive years, and the first woman to do it since Katharine Hepburn in 1968-69.)
What's so brilliant about Russell's writing and directing here is that, no matter how madcap the proceedings become, the film always stays grounded. Just because the film itself is a parody of the crime genre doesn't mean the characters themselves are parodies. They are all fully-fleshed-out people with very real hopes, strengths and flaws. No one's a hero and no one's a villain. At varying points in the film you may find your allegiance shifting variously between Richie's efforts to execute justice, Irving's conflicting attempts to gain respect, Sydney's desire to make a getaway, and Rosalyn's eagerness to burn it all to the ground. Everyone's conning everyone else, and the fun of "Hustle" is finding out how deep those layers go. Just when you think you've finally reached the bottom, there's someone waiting to pull the rug out from under you again.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqgjPRNRDSY&noredirect=1[/youtube]
