An enchanting piece of filmmaking

Rating: 9/10 (3 July 2015)

Director David O. Russell brings life to this crime-dramedy based on a real-life scandal that took place in New York in the late 70s and early 80s. American Hustle features a stellar cast of Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence, and Louis C.K. The plot follows Irving Rosenfield (Christian Bale) and Sydney Prosser, a duo of con-artists who are unexpectedly dragged by FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) into an operation against corrupt government officials, including Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner), mayor of Camden, New Jersey. Jennifer Lawrence plays Rosalyn Rosenfield, the eccentric wife of Irving Rosenfield, who gets involved in a love triangle between her and Sydney Prosser. Louis C.K. plays Stoddard Thorsen, Richie DiMaso's boss. While all the characters are fictional, most of them are based on the real-life people that were involved in the events this film follows.
American Hustle is an enchanting and beautifully written film, David O. Russell does a magnificent job on bringing a story of political corruption to life. As the film goes on, the plot moves very well and steady, and propels with some darkly funny moments and solid dialogue from its talented cast. However, I can't say that was fully entertained by the story. The story does have its moments of complexities that fall somewhat incoherent. Fortunately, the plot never loses its energy. Eventually the story reaches a point where everything starts make sense and gives viewers the opportunity to grasp a stronger understanding. Aside from this, the characters and performances is made what really make the film shine. Christian Bale puts on an amazing performance as Irving Rosenfield. The immense effort Bale latches on to prepare for this role is something of true astonishment, by gaining forty pounds and maintaining a flabby physique, very opposite to the method acting technique he used in 'The Machinist' when he lost an absurd amount of weight to play an insomniac machine operator. Amy Adams is also impressive in her role, probably her best role in her career. Bradley Cooper does well as the FBI agent, sporting a rare 70s curly hairstyle to resonate with the story's setting. Jennifer Lawrence's performance is definitely the best out of all. Her character was quite interesting because how unpredictable she was and her eccentric personality. Her character was very similar in some ways to her character in Silver Lining Playbook (2012), which won her an Oscar for Best Actress. These actors demonstrate some engaging chemistry between each other, and show great appeal to what viewers can describe as "charming".
American Hustle maybe one of 2013's best films. The film presents brilliant performances, great story, and an incredible production design. I am quite surprised this film didn't win any Oscars, although it was nominate for ten. This film is probably the high point of the most of the actors' and actresses' career.