Login
With both The Fighter and 2012's Silver Linings Playbook having attained tremendous critical and commercial success, 2013's American Hustle finds director David O. Russell throwing his hat into the Oscar arena yet again. A 1970s period piece populated with Oscar-calibre actors released in December, it's an awards picture through-and-through, which is perhaps why the end result is slightly unsatisfying. To be sure, this is a smart, stylish piece of work, but it's also overly indulgent, coming across as an opportunity for Russell to just let his regular actors be themselves without any discipline. American Hustle is full of fascinating vignettes spotlighting great acting and great filmmaking, but it lacks a consistent through-line, with slipshod plotting making the proceedings difficult to follow.
An out-of-shape, middle-aged businessman, Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) owns a chain of dry cleaning stores in New Jersey, while also dabbling in criminal activities from time to time. Despite his estranged marriage to the unhinged, manipulative Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence), Irving meets and woos the mysterious Sydney (Amy Adams), teaming up with her to con people for thousands of dollars. When federal agent Richie (Bradley Cooper) busts the pair, he forces Irving and Sydney to perform jobs for the FBI in order to stay out of prison. Agreeing to bust the bigger, badder fish, Irving and Sydney set their sights on a New Jersey mayor, Carmine (Jeremy Renner), who's in the middle of a scam to rebuild Atlantic City's casino-resort landscape. But working to bring down Carmine opens doors to other powerful politicians and dangerous criminals, putting Irving and Sydney in much deeper than they ever anticipated.
American Hustle is based on the true story of the ABSCAM scandal from the 1970s, which was a complex deal. Producing a motion picture based on the incident is a tough proposition, as it would require tight plotting and an effective analysis of the factors surrounding it. Unfortunately, Russell is more interested in his quirky characters, not paying the subject enough attention to properly cover the intricacies at hand. According to Bale, the majority of the dialogue was improvised, and the star actually told Russell that the finished product might not make a lot of sense since various ad-libbed moments might change the plot down the track. Russell reportedly replied that he hates plots and is all about characters. And therein lies the problem: there are a lot of puzzle pieces to assemble here, and it's unclear if they all fit together by the end, with various scenes going by with vague stakes and an even vaguer purpose. It's not a deal-breaker per se, but it only occasionally translates to a gripping viewing experience.
American Hustle is likely Russell's most visually accomplished motion picture to date, evincing an impressive sense of mood and aesthetic sophistication, oozing a '70s atmosphere from start to end. The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook were more vérité productions, with raw cinematography establishing a documentary-esque vibe, but American Hustle is old-fashioned, playing out like a political thriller from the 1970s. In fact, its closest aesthetic cousin would be last year's Argo, right down to a deliberately grainy cinematic look and an excellent attention to period-specific costumes and hairstyles. The technical achievements are quite remarkable considering the modest budget, and Russell exhibits genuine mastery in his song choices. Various songs like Live and Let Die, A Horse with No Name and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road are incorporated to spectacular effect, enhancing the enterprise's sense of flavour. There are also a few fun moments of comedy, though in some scenes it's unclear exactly what tone Russell was aiming for.
Christian Bale yet again proves himself to be a chameleonic performer, changing his physique for the umpteenth time to portray the rotund Irving. Bale packed on a considerable amount of weight and disappeared into the role, changing his vocal mannerisms and body language, making this one of the actor's finest performances to date. It's the type of work that earns Oscars, but Bale does not shamelessly mug for Academy Award glory, as he's muted and talented enough to let his nuanced acting speak for itself. As Sydney, Amy Adams is predictably good, showing yet again that she's a fierce, confident performer with plenty of beauty and charisma to spare. Meanwhile, Bradley Cooper revisits the incredible acting chops he displayed in Silver Linings Playbook, delivering a truly marvellous performance for which he consistently looks focused. But the most mesmerising actor is Jennifer Lawrence, who commands the screen with such passion that one almost wishes the whole movie was about her. Adding further flavour to the cast are Jeremy Renner and Louis C.K., both of whom hit their respective marks, while Robert De Niro also pops in for a short but memorable appearance.
It's unsurprising that American Hustle has drawn unbelievably positive reviews from the press, as it's the type of blatant Oscar contender designed specifically to impress critics and awards voters. But it's too all over the shop to be genuinely memorable or enjoyable, with its messy narrative and gargantuan runtime bringing the production down a couple of notches. It's not that the material needed to be dumbed down to Twitter speak, but more disciplined plotting and further clarification about the specifics of various narrative machinations would've catapulted the film to greatness. As it is, this is merely a decent effort from Russell which had the potential to be great.
6.5/10
