American Hustle
Director: David O. Russell
Cast: Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Jennifer Lawrence.
Rated R for pervasive language, some sexual content and brief violence.
We're nearing the end of the Oscar season and American Hustle has been highly anticipated as one of the year's best that is sure to be Oscar bait. Director David O. Russell (The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook) has gathered together the stars of his previous two films, plus Jeremy Renner, to tell the fictionalized true story of the Abscam scandal of the 70s in which a handful of politicians were arrested for corruption. So, does this film live up to expectations? I know it has for many amongst film critics, but as for myself, I expected more.
Christian Bale plays Irving Rosenfeld who has made a living pulling off small time cons. His partner and mistress is Sydney Prosser, played by Amy Adams. The two of them work beautifully together and are madly in love despite the fact that Irving is actually married to Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) and has adopted her son as his own. His marriage to Rosalyn is tumultuous, but he loves her son and refuses to leave them. When Irving and Sydney get busted by FBI Agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) they must agree to help him bring down politicians, including Camden Mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner), in the act of taking bribes, then the two of them are off the hook.
I really wanted to love this film. I love all these actors and have been really impressed by David O. Russell in recent years. Yet, somehow I was underwhelmed. I wasn't riveted nor moved, and I'm not sure why. The acting is superb. These are all top tier actors who bring their tremendous talents to their respective roles. I expect all will get nominations and I would not refute that. Russell has a knack for making great actors even better; that is his gift. Despite these accolades, I often found myself bored and disengaged. The dialogue didn't seem as sharp as Russell's previous films. The plot was nothing new. It's obvious that this film is about the characters and what they all will do to get what they want. The actors are all great, the costume design is perfect, and the soundtrack is fantastic. But I missed things like tension, sharper dialogue, and genuine drama and/or comedy, two things that Silver Linings Playbook excelled at so well.
Bottom line, American Hustle is well-directed and well-acted, but I wanted more. I don't necessarily care if I see it again. I'll easily put on The Fighter or Silver Linings Playbook over this one.
RATING: B
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