Director: David O. Russell.
Starring: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, Robert De Niro and Michael Pena.
Certificate: 15.
Running Time: 138 minutes
Synopsis: A fictional film set in the alluring world of one of the most stunning scandals to rock our nation, American Hustle tells the story of brilliant con man Irving Rosenfeld, who along with his equally cunning and seductive British partner Sydney Prosser is forced to work for a wild FBI agent Richie DiMaso, who pushes them into a world of New Jersey power-brokers and the mafia that’s as dangerous as it is enchanting.
Director David O.Russell assembles a number of his cast from the past two award-winning pictures in THE FIGHTER and SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK to tell the fact-based story of ingenious confidence trickster, Irving Rosenfeld (Bale), who alongside his beautiful younger lover and partner (in-crime), Sydney Prosser, unfortunately find themselves having to team with unpredictable FBI agent Richie DiMaso, in a complex case of corruption and oneupmanship. This time, Russell even out does himself and arguable gives us his finest work to date.
With initial camerawork gliding around like a thing of beauty and often reminiscent of Martin Scorsese’s GOODFELLAS or Paul Thomas Anderson’s BOOGIE NIGHTS, AMERICAN HUSTLE is the first must-see movie of 2014. Certainly the period setting in both style and substance along with captivating character narration from Bale and Adams helping in that respect. And again like those classic double, the soundtrack is sublime and just as memorable. The costumes, hairstyles, scenery and sets are as lavish as the screenplay with scintillating dialogue and tense situations from the off. All showcasing a director most definitely at the top of his game.
Dysfunctional relationships are made and built upon and ultimately become fractured as their crazy schemes come together. There is an uneasiness to the admittedly amusing true-life Abscam scandal that really does become nail biting with introduction of Mafia chief Victor Tellegio (a cameoing Robert De Niro reminding us how terrifyingly intense he can be when going gangster without the laughs). As terrific as Bale and Adams are together driving the story forward (the latter who sizzles like never before), do not underestimate the role Cooper plays in the sting of proceedings. His hot-tempered, passionate and obsessively progressive Federal Agent Richie DiMaso is integral to the entire dizzying operation as it hangs by a thread. Almost to the point we’re almost unsure of who is conning who – and at any given moment!
Playing pivotal supporting roles are an outstanding Jeremy Renner as the unlucky, sympathetic politician Carmine Polito, who’s unaware he’s being played by a genuinely gutted Bale and Russell’s scene-stealing Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence as Bale’s sycophantic and seriously depressed wife Rosalyn. Her performance is at times hilarious and heartbreaking. Gullible and reprehensible, her jealously and fear of being alone is the spark that could ignite the shear shit-storm they all find themselves in.
Russell’s terrific crime caper is an intoxicating look at love, life, friendship and trust through the eyes of people who want just that but find them ultimately impossible to attain. See who you root for and you may well be surprised.
[usr=5] AMERICAN HUSTLE is in cinemas now.
