Review of American Hustle (2013) by Prodigy2013 — 04 Jan 2014
Loosely based on the FBI ABSCAM Operation in the 1970’s, the film follows successful conman Irving Rosenfeld, played by the usually committed Christian Bale, and his deceptive crime partner and mistress “Edith Greensly” played with allure by Amy Adams.
To evade prosecution these con artists are forced to serve the FBI by creating an elaborate sting operation to nail corrupt politicians in the U.S of A. Spearheading this FBI operation on the field is Bradley Cooper’s Agent Richie DiMaso, who goes toe-to-toe with the very con artists he enlisted.
Among the corrupt politicians being played by all involved; Mayor Carmine Polito (well played by Jeremy Renner) has his heart in the right place but uses the wrong means to go about accomplishing his plans.
While all this scamming and “stinging” is going, Jennifer Lawrence’s Rosalyn Rosenfeld, the zany wife of Irving, threatens the whole operation with her jealousy driven antics. I detailed all the major characters, not to fill space or waste time, but to express my appreciation for the characters in this film.
A great character is nothing without great performances, and the cast delivers from all angles! If I was to single out any performance it would probably be Bradley Cooper’s eccentric characterization, which was nice comedic work in an already hilarious film.
As it stands the ensemble was fantastic, and well guided by director David O. Russell who continues to prove his ability to direct actors. With the multiple narrators to widen the viewer’s perspective, the off-key film editing and the soundtrack, O.
Russel may have taken a few too many notes from Scorsese; but it works, it all works well. This approach was a service to the complicated story, which was made into a digestible viewing experience. It also helped in character development; after all, the film was a character study at its heart.
With a sound cast and confident direction, this was a wild burst of energy from a filmmaker who is eyeing gold at this year’s awards season.
This review of American Hustle (2013) was written by Prodigy2013 on 04 Jan 2014.
American Hustle has generally received very positive reviews.
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