Brilliantly Observed Character-Study of the Conning Mentality

Rating: 9/10 (31 January 2014)

Those viewers with long memories might notice resemblances between David O. Russell's film and George Roy Hill's THE STING. In both works, the principal center of attention is on the psychology of conning; how people can render themselves perfectly plausible to their victims and get away with it. However there is one important difference: whereas the earlier film took a jokey approach to the subject-matter (complete with Scott Joplin-inspired ragtime score), American HUSTLE takes a long hard look at the lives of Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) and sidekick Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), and shows how their lives are fundamentally empty. Although Rosenfeld protests his enduring love for his wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence), it's clear that his main focus of attention is on sustaining the con. When it threatens to get out of hand, he tries to withdraw, but finds himself unable to do so. Likewise Sydney; although she is a masterly impersonator of a British aristocrat, she has nothing much else to fall back on. In the world of late 70s New York, it is every person for themselves - even the cop Richie DiMasso (Bradley Cooper) is out to exploit everyone around him. In the end, Irving and Sydney come to a decision - the only way to extricate themselves from difficulty is to plan the ultimate con. Their lives will not improve as a result, but at least they will be safe for a while. American HUSTLE is a long, controlled, brilliantly acted movie. Director Russell's camera focuses on the protagonists in minute detail, taking a long hard look at their relationships, while suggesting that such relationships only work if the con works successfully. If the con fails, then relationships come crashing down. The late Seventies New York atmosphere is brilliantly evoked; the city is both attractive yet terribly seedy, a place where only the fittest survive. The soundtrack, with hits from the period, only serves to enhance this mood. This film has been nominated for several awards, and justifiably so.