AMERICAN HUSTLE - Review

Directed By: David O. Russell

Written By: Eric Singer and David O. Russell

Rated R for pervasive language, some sexual content and brief violence

Release Date: December 20^th, 2013

Review By: Sean Kayden

“American Hustle” has one of the best ensembles of the year. It has great acting, terrific wardrobe changes, and a spectacular soundtrack. It was all there, but just like any great con, in the end you’re left without all that much. That’s how I felt after viewing “American Hustle.” For a movie with such high caliber in front and behind the camera, I was left catastrophically disappointed with the end results. I wouldn’t however consider the film egregious by any stretch, but the film always seemed to be stuck in neutral. The first act is rather slow as we get to meet Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) and his own back-story in becoming the two-bit con artist he is in the present. Soon after navigating through his life, we find out how he meets his lover/con partner, Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams). She poses as a British aristocrat named "Lady Edith Greensly" as a way to attract investors, whose money Irving embezzles. Their little enterprise works flawlessly up until Irving meets Edith’s latest potential client Richard "Richie" DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) posing undercover as a prospective investor. In order for Edith to get out of jail Irving must work with DiMaso to take down a few more con artists. However, DiMaso starts to like Edith and therefore a love triangle between the three begins. To add to it, Irving’s first wife (still legally married to), Rosalyn Rosenfeld (Jennifer Lawrence) is crazy and manipulative in her own twisted ways.

All of the actors are terrific. Amy Adams pulls off what might be her best performance yet despite being from a movie that won’t be considered her best. “American Hustle” catches some heat in the second act once we get more into the relationships between the four characters. When the mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner), comes into play there is some build up in the film, but it’s short lived. It feels as if there was so much emphasis on the characters and the way they looked than a much of a way of a coherent plot. The movie is widely sprawled out and some questionable filmmaking decisions were made that has “American Hustle” trying to con the viewer into thinking it’s smarter than what it actually appears to be. While I’m a fan of all the actors in the film, I never felt excited or enthralled by the film. It seemed rather consistent throughout and when I say consistent, I really mean utterly flat.

I don’t want to divulge into specific plot details, but the film closes out almost too neatly (and arguably unconvincingly). As it treads along at a moderate but sometimes brisk pace, I never found myself captivated by what was going on. It plugged along neither being surprisingly fascinating or down right engrossing. David O. Russell is however one of the best directors behind the camera. He keeps the camera alive with swift movements, close-ups, and panning shots. His last two films, “The Fighter” and “Silver Linings Playbook” were my favorites in each year they came out. However, with “American Hustle,” Russell paid too much attention to detail with characters and music choices rather than a rational, logical plot. In “American Hustle,” you get a little “Boogie Nights,” mixed with “Goodfellas” light. However, it can never match up to the mastery of those two classics and instead falling victim of being just a decent film rather one that should have been something much more.

Grade: 3 out of 5