Lack of gripping accompaniment, but still hustle

Rating: 8/10 (21 January 2014)

American Hustle appeared to be very stylish, musical and funny piece of cinema. However impression is mixed as, on the one hand, you are led to believe that the situation of our main heroes is complicated and bloody dangerous. On the other hand, soundtrack is super positive all the time, mood is too good for something really bad to happen. I personally found the movie much less intriguing than it might have been according to the story, it also could have been shorter. Don't get me wrong, I really liked the soundtrack and sharp-witted dialogues, the plot is also not on the surface. It's just the strange mix of those things you get confused with - love, crime, humor and easiness in the air.
Despite the presence of well-known actors, David O. Russell deserves big compliment for pushing them to the limit and beyond. Christian Bale did a fantastic job on transforming himself into a charismatic wise character, not just genius selfish central figure viewers used to see behind his roles.
Though it is quality and definitely worth attention of every movie fan, I would not lay much emphasis on this film in the context of best picture Oscar competition among 2013 nominees.