David O. Russell attempting a Coen Brothers film.

Rating: 5/10 (15 February 2014)

When I first saw American Hustle I went because it has a great cast, I liked David O. Russell and the critics seemed to love it. I left the theatre angry however because I felt I'd not only wasted my money, but my time as well. I very rarely feel like this about films because generally if something isn't good I'll let it go and just say "oh well". The thing that made me angry about this is that it has potential and David O. Russell was not the man that should have directed it. It was obvious that he was going for a Coen brothersesk feel which was his first mistake because only the Coen brothers can do the Coen brothers. Like Coen movies, there were big almost cartoonish characters and an elliptical story line in which the interaction or the Journey matter more than the destination. The reason why this style works so brilliantly in a Coen movie is because they have a tight control of what is going on. David O. Russell let all his actors improvise so much so that it felt like they were all more interested in out acting each other. It was difficult to follow what he was going for at times and not in an enjoyable way. There are times where you're not sure what's happening in a Coen movie but you don't care because the journey is fun. The whole thing although billed a comedy, was the furthest from it. Back to the Coens, they don't write jokes but let the humour rise from the script and the characters and the situations they're in. This is obviously what David O. Russell was going for but again without the control, it fell apart. He then also felt the need to throw in some of Scorsese's tricks.
The whole thing is vacuous nonsense and I wish David O. Russell would start making proper movies again. There's nothing wrong with using other directors styles but if you're going to do it, do it properly and understand why it works for them. He has had some decent films but now he seems more preoccupied with winning awards by pandering to the academy and the critics. This thing can win as many awards as it wants in the Hollywood popularity contests but it's not a great film. It's a shame really because it could have been great.