Decent Low-Key Scam/Crime Flick

Rating: 7/10 (4 January 2014)

Director Russell figures, wisely, that at this late "Post 9-11" date, nobody really cares if a big-budget scam movie is based on reality or whatever. So, rather "tongue in cheek" as the movie begins comes a disclaimer that some of the events actually happened telegraphs one shouldn't worry about the real ABSCAM story, but will hopefully chose to be entertained instead.
American Hustle does entertain, but at times it does so in such a ploddingly slow build that it tests the viewer's endurance. From the start one doesn't doubt that Christian Bale has once more (emaciated in The Mechanic) suffered for his art: packing on 35 or more pounds and sporting a shaved upper skull in order to don a scrap of a toupee to create one of cinemas most horrid "comb-overs" of all time. It's quite a sight to see Bale like this. His character is pretty complex and Bale seems to hold back in order to create an interesting dichotomy of sleazy Jersey conman skin with a secret, and highly intelligent, inner thinking man.
Like some other famous crime duos when the proper con-woman falls into his orbit the scams get bigger...And, much more profitable. Amy Adams plays Bale's accomplice and mutual love interest. Adam's character is much more polished on the surface than Bale's. However, underneath, they're cut from the same cloth. Adams is constantly displayed as "eye-candy" with revealing neck and hem lines, but she nails the role so well her looks are just part of her character. As one might expect as the cons get bigger it attracts the attention of an FBI agent named Richie DiMaso played by Bradley Cooper. DiMaso is all about career advancement and he sees an opportunity to get a con-man in his pocket for something much larger. Cooper has grown into a good actor, he gets across the drive of an agent that while ultimately getting some high profile indictments destroys himself in the process. Cooper's DiMaso really is a tragic character here and it really comes across. Fleshing out Bale's character, Irving Rosenfeld, is the fact he has a family which he is largely absent from, but not estranged. He cares for his wife while not actually loving her, and he truly feels that he is a father to her son from a previous marriage. I'm not sure what this tells us about Rosenfeld, perhaps that he has a chivalrous code? His wife is the lovely Jennifer Lawrence who really pulls limited screen time off with aplomb. There's nothing too amazing about the cinematography excepting it captures the era nicely and, largely, just gets out of the way. The direction and writing are a few notches above the median and Bale, Cooper, Adams, and Lawrence push it yet a notch or so more. There is such scant comedy it wouldn't bear mentioning excepting that what it entails is low-key brilliant if compact. I'm talking about agent DiMaso's interaction with his boss played by Louis C.K.. Robert DiNiro makes a clichéd appearance as a mob boss and the most interesting thing I can say about it he spoke in Arabic which added one more dimension to DiNiro's Mafia repertoire.
It's likely you could care less about learning what ABSCAM was. But, though this movie may be mostly based on that now iconic FBI sting, this isn't about setting history straight or even exposing it. It's a scam, or hustle, story and as such it ain't bad. Serviceable story and some decent acting bring it up to a 7 rating.