American Hustle

Cinema's new directorial darling, David O. Russell, drops us smack dab into the middle of the 1970's with musical accompaniment that would make Cameron Crowe jealous. The costumes are pitch perfect as the opening scene finds Christian Bale meticulously applying a ridiculous toupee and pinning his combover into place in a painstakingly detailed process. The end result is about the same as the movie, an amazing process and an ironically tacky ending.

Bale for my money is one of the best, and he doesn't disappoint as Irving Rosenfeld. He's a New York grifter who you just can't help but feel a little compassionate for. That's the brilliance of Bale. He's so authentic, even as a scumbag that you care for his character a little. In this case it adds to the story blurring the lines between right and wrong, good and bad. Amy Adams is Sydney Prosser, the love of his life. Kindred spirits and similar scruples, they are a harmless Bonnie and Clyde, until they are caught by shady FBI agent DiMaso (Bradley Cooper). He lives with his mom and desperately wants to be a big time crime fighter. His heart is in the right place, but his motives and methods make him a bit of a loose cannon. His tightly permed hair and cheap suits do his character justice as he shows yet another quality acting performance. Jeremy Renner, Louis CK, and Robert DeNiro all turn in great supporting roles, but the most talked about and probably most volatile is Jennifer Lawrence as Bale's estranged wife, Rosalyn. They share a son and a sort of dysfunctional family dynamic that is endearing. There's no abuse, but there's a lot of frustration and misunderstanding, but it's cute in the way that David O. Russell made mental illness cute in Silver Linings Playbook. If that makes any sense.

American Hustle is a comedy at heart, but it tries to do too much. Mostly based on a true story, as disclaimed at the beginning, we get the sense that this is going to be a major corruption scandal, and the resolution is mostly satisfying, but in retrospect, it's a bit of a lightweight story. No real plot twists, no double crossing, and DeNiro was only in one scene (which he owned), which could have been a much more special role. The film hits style and period right on the nose, and you feel like you're in the 1970's from the get-go, but it just sort of fizzles.

The point of this film is to put an amazing ensemble cast together during the "it" period (1970's) for cinema right now. Argo struck gold with it last year, and the costume, makeup, and set designers must be loving the resurgence of the era. I wouldn't be surprised if American Hustle out-hustles some of the other films for Oscar gold. Lawrence and Bale have rarely if ever been better, Cooper is in his element, Adams is stunning, and Renner plays out of type, which is refreshing, as his character Carmine Polito, the mayor of Camden, NJ is very likable for a bit of a goombah. Don't count the commas in that last sentence please.

Amy Adams will get a Best Actress nomination and Jennifer Lawrence will get a Best Supporting Actress nomination. These are the two sure things, but there are a lot of other possibilities. That's the great thing about the O. Russell phenomenon. He creates ripe characters and has found his muses (this cast is basically a combination of The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook). He evokes great performances and is gaining a reputation as an Oscar magnet. Although I don't personally think it's the best film of the year (Captain Phillips, Gravity) it might be more audience-friendly than the gritty 12 Years a Slave, which is sitting on top of the field right now. The Academy loved Argo, and this has the same vibe, but without the suspense or tension.

The film doesn't really do it for me, and it's because of the ending. I'm not going to give anything away, but I found Bale and Adams to be very likable criminals, and Cooper to be a bit of a loser as a cop. Maybe that's the rub as it's not a typical heist flick, but there isn't enough action for my money. Put these great actors and actresses in a room and see what happens is a more accurate description. Perhaps if the humorous element was removed, and some danger was injected it would have been a bit more fulfilling.

In any case, it's a fun film full of nomination potential, and O. Russell has truly found his niche with a third straight base hit. Not a homerun, and not quite as good as Silver Linings Playbook, but good enough. See it for the acting. See it for Bale's toupee and belly. See it for Lawrence's ranting breakdowns, see it for Cooper's ridiculous perm, and see it for Adams' plunging dressline. Don't expect a great story though. 7/10.