Movies: American Hustle

Score:  **** out of ***** (B+)

Long Story Short:  In one of 2013's featured Oscar contenders, director David O. Russell newest film brings back many familiar faces from his previous films.  This one is much goofier and loosely constructed than his other films, like The Fighter or Silver Linings Playbook.  While he gets fantastic performances from leads Christian Bale and Amy Adams, youngsters Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence are severely overrated misfires.  More time seemed to be spent on (successfully) making stylish visuals and a soundtrack rather than on a coherent plot, making American Hustle feel "too cool for school".


As we approach the end of 2013, there are still some interesting films left to see before I write my 2013 year-in-review post.  The film I'm reviewing today is a big Oscar contender, and I may be seeing some others, too (along with more "popular" films like Anchorman 2).  My cut off for films is based on its release date for theater(s) in my area, so some may not be on the 2013 review (for example, Zero Dark Thirty will be on the upcoming review as it was released near me in early January ).  As for American Hustle, I took interest in it for the big names in the cast, the director's previous good films, and the Oscar hype.  With over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, the deal was sealed.  American Hustle was directed by David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook) and stars Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.

Based on true events, Hustle tells the tale of two great con artists - Irving (Bale) and Sydney (Adams) - who cross paths and become close, both personally and professionally.  The two are living the dream in the late 1970s, except for the minor nuisance of Irving's marriage to Rosalyn (Lawrence).  Things turn for the worse when the FBI, led by agent Richie DiMaso (Cooper) discovers their operation.  All is not lost, however:  in pursuit of his own dream, Richie offers them a way out.

What begins as a limited operation to nab other con artists escalates to involve everyone from politicians to the mob.  Irving and Sydney's once-tight relationship begins to fray, yet they must work together in order to salvage any remaining hope they have for their lives and the people they love.

Director David O. Russell managed to corral an impressive cast, the principal parts going to those whom he has worked with before (Silver Linings, The Fighter).  Christian Bale takes the lead role as Irving the con artist.  I knew Bale was a great actor, but wow does he knock it out of the park here.  Not only did he (along with significant and excellent work from the crew, I'm sure) transform his body to literally and figuratively flesh Irving out, Bale just disappears into the complex character.  He's ruthless and ingenious in his schemes, yet compassionate, vulnerable, etc. - a normal person - in private.  Although often sullen and quiet on screen, Bale's Irving always drew my attention.  Amy Adams as Sydney is also great, despite being given less background to work from.  She lights up the screen when in action - hustling some poor fool or seducing Irving and Richie - as well as in quieter moments when she shows Sydney's keen intelligence yet also, like Irving, her personal frustrations.  Russell was spot-on with his decision to cast Bale and Adams as the primary leads:  they prove here that they are indeed two of the best actors in Hollywood.

Although Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence are getting just as much attention from critics and the press, I was far less impressed with them.  They're the "new kids" - also Russell-film vets - and the director clearly wanted to show them off again.  Cooper isn't completely terrible as agent DiMaso; he's at least fun to watch most of the time.  Yet he doesn't really make a convincing FBI agent - I mean, he's not supposed to be a great agent, but there's very little good to be found in his character at all.  You can chalk much of that up to the script, but Cooper is also guilty of overacting on a number of occasions, particularly later in the film.  Lawrence is even worse; her Rosalyn is caricature rather than a character.  She did an excellent job, fully worthy of her Oscar in last year's Silver Linings, but this is just awful - way, way overacted.  The obviously over-the-top parts aren't even entertaining, and the good moments have more to do with Bale's involvement.  Cooper and Lawrence both show occasional glimpses of their potential, but the actors and their director badly miscalculated how to approach this film.  (Almost forgot to mention Jeremy Renner, a major part in the film!  He does a very good job here, much different from the roles I've seen him in before.  I didn't think he could be so charismatic, but he pulls it off well.)

Some reviews I've read of this compare it to Scorcese's films; as I'm not very familiar with a lot of those, I'd instead compare it with Ocean's Eleven.  American Hustle is meant to be a more high-brow production, but they both have the central components of a group con/heist effort and a web of personal relationships.  I'm sure a repeat viewing of the film would help, but it was a little tricky to follow all the con operations in American Hustle - much of it was buried underneath the (very enjoyable) 70s soundtrack, or run through in rapid fire dialogue with lots of con-lingo.  As the stakes grow higher and higher, it adds to a sense of bafflement, and not always of the comic type intended by the filmmaker.  On the other hand, most of the personal aspects work much better.  The strong Irving-Sydney connection is central, with Richie and Rosalyn acting as disruptors.  Bale and Adams do a tremendous job showing a complex, genuine relationship, and the film makes its strongest impact when that connection gets twisted, hurt, and otherwise altered.  A final point of comparison with Ocean's Eleven is the style, and American Hustle flourishes here, from the costumes to the music.  I don't have the vocabulary or the aesthetic sensibility to go into detail, but it's just entertaining.

***

Similar to 12 Years a Slave, here we have a heavily hyped Oscar contender - and while I think it's a very good film, I'd like to tap the brakes a little on this parade of adulation.  First of all, the film does not have four stand out performances:  it has two excellent ones, and two showy but ultimately failed ones. There's certainly a fine line here, because American Hustle is a comedy and not a serious drama.  But I got a strong sense from Cooper and especially Lawrence of trying (whether cynically or earnestly) to up the ante on their Silver Linings success and it ruined their performances.  Fortunately, Bale and Adams' performances are extraordinary (I'd also add that Louis C.K. is, unsurprisingly, hilarious in a small role and could have been even better if playing opposite someone other than Cooper).  I've already mentioned that the style of the film is high quality and entertaining, but that's superficial.  So the "tiebreaker" goes to the story and plot, on which I probably place more importance than many.  While it's an interesting set up, there are too many developments that just happen (mainly related to what Richie and the FBI are trying to do) and too many scenes that end up being pointless (Rosalyn's role in particular).  So while American Hustle has some great style, two outstanding performances and a neat premise, it ultimately doesn't think it has to play by the rules (Richie/Rosalyn; plot).  Good, but not great.