Well Done

Rating: 8/10 (9 February 2014)

American Hustle: the title talks on his own. This crime-comedy drama film shows us an incredibly transformed Christian Bale as the main character, followed Amy Adams (Man of Steel) as his "not-so-secret" lover, Jeremy Renner (The Avengers, The Bourne Legacy) as the Mayor of Camden, by the so much appreciated Bradley Cooper (The Hangover I,II and III) as an FBI agent, and the "newborn" beautiful star Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games movies) as Christian's wife. Located in the United States of the 70's, this movie tells the story of Irving Rosenfeld, a con artist that meets a young and beautiful woman, Sydney Prosser, and falls in love with her. But wait: if you're now expecting the common and boring love story, hold on. You'll be surprised. Together, they start a new fraudulent business, flying in lower skies to maintain a certain safety. Nonetheless, one day they are caught by an undercover FBI agent, Richard DiMaso. This is where the real story starts, with a continuum of lies, frauds and deceptions between all the characters showing up in the plot, to end up... you will find it out. It was actually weird seeing Christian Bale as he was in this movie. After all, in our hearts he will always be our beloved Bruce Wayne, while in our heads the psycho-killer Patrick Bateman (pretty close to Batman as well, isn't funny?). But still, his performance was quite pleasant to the sight after a short while of adaptation. A fat, bald and emotional crook? He can be also that one person. But also the other characters are well-developed. Obviously, not being a psychological movie, there isn't so much room for a deep insight into everyone's personality, but it's still easy enough to grasp a general idea from their speeches, their acts, and of course the main narration. The plot was generally balanced and well-structured. The main sensation I had was that Russel didn't want to exaggerate with epic facts and events, as often nowadays happens with cinema. Appreciated choice. After all, this movie derives from a true story. Another good thing about it was that there is no redundancy of details, thus giving the viewer the chance to imagine again. So yes, in the end American Hustle counts as a "Must-See". Maybe not as those legendary pulps all of us know, but still its worth enough. With its sometimes grotesque humor, its thrilling plot, and well-placed casting, American Hustle gained its place into cinema's history.