Overrated and overlong

Rating: 4/10 (21 April 2016)

American HUSTLE is a big disappointment from David O. Russell, one of America's most overrated directors. This 1970s throwback is more interested in fashions and set design than actual storytelling, because the storyline is all over the place. It's about a group of con men and the FBI and the ways in which they get involved with mobsters and the like. It's sort of like an OCEAN'S ELEVEN, albeit with a '70s setting and no heists in sight.
The first thing noticeable about this film is the cast, which is pretty impressive. The person who really shines is chief actor Christian Bale, once again near enough unrecognisable thanks to some extreme weight gain. Others like Jeremy Renner and Bradley Cooper are less impressive, but Amy Adams shines as a femme fatale. Worst of the bunch is Jennifer Lawrence, totally miscast playing a character who should be in her 40s at the very least. Lawrence's "look at me" performance here is a constant embarrassment and she's way out of her depth in comparison to the others.
While I appreciated American HUSTLE's look, feel, and sound (those Brooklyn accents make you feel like you're watching an old Scorsese gangster flick), the film is way too long for its own good. Nothing much happens either, apart from loads of grating arguments. I heard that some of this was improvised, which makes sense, as improvised stuff always tends to get repetitive and samey after a while (check out the later series of the British show THIS IS ENGLAND for a good comparison). Maybe with a tighter script and some better casting choices, American HUSTLE could have been a good film. As it stands, it's just an overrated mess.