Bale and Adams Give the Movie Heart

Rating: 7/10 (21 December 2013)

First, the IMDb synopsis describes Amy Adams as the "British" partner. She does not play a Brit. She poses as British.
The movie, contrary to many reviews, is not frothy, or light or even a comedy. It is a drama that has comedic elements. It is a good show, not a great movie. Also, all the Jennifer Lawrence accolades are surprising when, in fact the most impressive performances belong to Christine Bale and Amy Adams. The press have a love affair with Lawrence which may be understandable considering she gives a great uncanned interview and she is talented. Watching her is always entertaining, but not surprising. I have only seen her in Silver Linings and in American Hustle. Basically it's the same character and both close to who she appears to be (without the neuroses and hysteria). She is charismatic and real always. But not surprising.
Amy Adams on the other hand is amazing. She seems to create iconic characters that bear no resemblance to each other and yet they are entertaining, real and riveting. Yet she hasn't gotten the great press or the big accolades.
Contrary to reviews saying that Lawrence blows everyone away, NOT SO. It is Bale who blew me away. This Welsh man completely embodies a Bronx con man with such humanity you can't help but love him. And, this is the first role I've seen him where I found him wildly attractive, despite his comb over and pot belly. His character could have been a repulsive unsympathetic pig, but instead, he is the one with whom we identify and the heart of the picture. His accent is perfect and he doesn't fall into the trap of lots of actors portraying New Yorkers--going over the top. He is restrained in that area. His mannerisms are right on and his heart is on his sleeve which may, partially, be credited to the script, but he embodies that character brilliantly. When he is on the screen, he is the one I am watching.
Bradely Cooper, an excellent actor, did not fair as well. Again, he may have had a tougher job bringing out the humanity of the character, but that is the job of the actor. And he could have done it better. I did not care about his character, and I should have.
Lawrence has the easiest role. A real character, funny in a crazy neurotic way. She has the flashy, comic-relief role that always gets noticed. And she plays it well. But again, it wasn't sympathetic and it should have been. But she is charismatic and entertaining to watch.
I had a similar reaction toward American Hustle (AH) as I did to Silver Linings Playbook (SLP)--okay, watchable, but what's all the hype about? AH is a far better film. SLP was a smaller, quirkier film with a script that seemed contrived. But AH suffers from some of the same problems, but with a much better script, and great twists to keep the audience intrigued. However, it didn't quite fly. It didn't breathe and take flight.
In a way AH is bogged down by the very thing that makes movies great: characters. Unfortunately, some of the character idiosyncracies were forced. For instance, the come over worked perfectly for the Bale character. In his youth Irving protects his father by "creating" business for him in a less than honest way; as an adult he protects himself in a desperate, self-justifying way: feeling a continuing vulnerability, Irving does what it takes to overcome (over comb) it and fit in--his comb over is a metaphor for his vulnerability and for his misdirected determination to "overcome" even if it requires dishonesty. Unfortunately, the director uses the same "hair" obsession to much less success for the Cooper character. In that case it just seems contrived. It provides a cheap laugh, but otherwise it's a self-conscious disconnected device.
All in all, it was an interesting piece of fictionalized history, even illuminating and certainly ironic (the good/bad guys get caught but the real bad guys go untouched) with some good characters/performances and great performances by Bale and Adams.