A strong cast of actors alongside a great writing

Rating: 10/10 (9 March 2014)

If, like me, you have a thing for the 70s, American Hustle is your movie. To me, the whole thing is about the setting. A great costume and scene design and attention to details, makes American Hustle look like a movie not just set in the 70s, but from the era.
The movie shares the excellence in direction and acting with director O. Russell's previous movie, Silver Linings Playbook, also starring Lawrence, Cooper, and DeNiro. One cannot find a problem with acting. All the actors, especially Christian Bale deliver great performances portraying memorable characters. The achievements in acting are of course due to a great direction by David O. Russell, who in my opinion deserved an Oscar for his work on the movie.
Singer and Russell did a great job writing great dialogue, while avoiding the common mistakes that could happen in the movies of this genre. Though the movie uses flashbacks, many of which could not be avoided, the importance of story telling through the dialogue is not forgotten and the story is told in a proper way. Not only the have written a solid, strong con story, the paid enough attention to the drama, creating lovely characters and establishing proper connections among them.
American Hustle is a great journey of cons, tricks, and elaborate plans. The journey ends after two hours, but the experience is not easily forgotten.