How on Earth did this film get multiple Oscar nominations?

Rating: 4/10 (25 April 2014)

So, last night I spent hard-earned money and watched this film. I am still shaking my head this morning. How on Earth could this film be considered good enough to be in the Best Picture lineup? The things that annoyed me the most about this film? Firstly, not for one single second did I believe what I was seeing on screen. Most of the actors came across as though they were playing characters, but not once did they come across as real human beings, real people. You could tell every moment that they were acting. Never once did I not think, "wow, that's Christian Bale with a really bad wig"", rather than think he was his character, Irving. And I'm sorry Amy Adams, but revealing costumes do not automatically make an actress sexy and alluring. She had moments of brilliance but they were tempered with scenes where she seemed like a first-year acting student learning how to ëmote". Bradley Cooper was enjoyable at times, when he wasn't overacting. I much preferred and believed his performance in Silver Linings Playbook.
Secondly, I thought this was so poorly directed and edited. The script was meandering, to the point of boredom. I've read David O. Russell allowed a lot of improvisation on the set. If that is the case, it was at the cost of a linear plot line that was sorely needed in a "caper/con movie". The audience needs to be carried along with the story, to be able to pick up on some clues, so the pay-off at the end was worth investing the audience's time. As it is, my reaction was more "meh! so what?", rather than "wow! that was really clever".
Having said that, there were things I liked about the film and why I'm giving it four stars:
One star for: Jennifer Lawrence. She stole every scene she was in. Although she was much too young for the part and her character was unbelievable at times, I forgave her because her performance was so good.
One star for: Jeremy Renner. The only character that was rooted in some kind of reality. I felt for his character of Carmine and he played it like he was a real person with a heart, not some kind of caricature. His performance was great.
One star for: the costumes and hair. They were brilliantly done.
One star for: the soundtrack. I felt like I was having a disco in my lounge-room.
In summary, a huge disappointment. Just because some professional movie critics liked it, it doesn't mean it was a good film.