Not perfect, but damned entertaining nonetheless

Rating: 8/10 (19 January 2014)

Having seen and loved The Fighter - and having heard a LOT of good things about Silver Linings Playbook - I came into this film with fairly high expectations, and I must say I was not disappointed.
American Hustle is original, intriguing and delightfully over-the-top, with great performances by the entire cast. David O. Russell is a real actors' director - in his films he manages to bring out some of his cast's best work, and he really gives them all a chance to have fun with their characters in this one. All of the five lead characters are beautifully fleshed out, none suffering from being predictable or two-dimensional, and Bale, Cooper, Adams, Lawrence and Renner all get a good chance to show off their considerable talents. This is Russell's second film to achieve Oscar nominations in all four acting categories, and you can really see why. Bale and Lawrence's shared scenes in particular are great fun to watch. The attention to detail is also impressive - everything from the costumes to the hair to the soundtrack feels authentic and really helps to emphasise the film's distinctive character. That being said, this is by no means a perfect film - there are occasional problems with pacing, and the script, which for the most part really works with the tone of the film, drops a bit in places. Also, I didn't quite feel the same connection to it as I did to The Fighter - Hustle just didn't delve as deeply into its material and that did lessen the extent to which I could feel truly engrossed.
So all in all, this may not be one of the best films ever made but it sure is damn good in many respects - it's humorous, engaging, authentic and heartfelt, and a good deal more original than a lot of films out there. Well worth a watch. 8.5/10