It weaves a fantastic gripping tale of fraudulence with colorful characters, dancing with the tune of greed.

Rating: 9/10 (8 February 2014)

It's truly a rare occasion to have such prominent cast in one movie, each capable of a leading role on their own, the amalgamation of these talents, coupled with extraordinary directing, make American Hustle a deceptively dark yet charming comedy. In a commentary on how far people are willing to use others for own selfish purpose, these illustrious characters seduce, lie and cheat in an orgy of deceit. It's ludicrous, self-deprecating while still able to be funnily relatable and thoroughly enjoyable.
American Hustle is a story of two con artists, Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) and Sydney Prosse (Amy Adams), who make a living by setting up small fraud businesses. Unfortunately for them, they are caught red-handed by an FBI agent Richard DiMaso (Bradley Cooper). Now faced with heavy charges, both have no choice but to aid the agent in capturing more high profile targets. The operation soon becomes out of control as they try to manipulate increasing amount of victims and also outmaneuver each other, while dangerous and powerful men caught whiff of the sting operation.
Every time a scene plays out, the actors passionately perform at excellent caliber. Christian Bale transforms himself into almost a completely different person. He looks plumper, wears hair piece and struts with somewhat slouched posture, it's realistically impressive. He shows complacent cautious behavior to mask his sly ambitious side. I admittedly didn't recognize him at some points as he almost merges in the character. Bradley Cooper plays the suave agent, who is Irving's counterpart, brimming with confident and unbridled ambition. The way he portrays his character is explosively brazen, almost obsessively erratic in his endeavor.
Amy Adams as the role of sensual mistress, trademarked by how unwilling she is on wearing bra, has another persona as Edith, the supposed British lady. She shifts between the roles so convincingly, weaving layers of lies with great British accent; she may very well elude the audience. Jennifer Lawrence plays Irving's overly defensive, disturbed and near batshit insane wife. She seems so broken with habitual reliance on dubious men, both using and being used by them. There is one scene where Adams and Lawrence loath each other with such malicious intensity, it's almost creepy to witness.
I like the addition of Louis C.K. as the reluctant cop and DiMaso's supervisor; he brings organic humor to the table, mostly on his own character's expense. Jeremey Renner rocks a flamboyant haircut as the seemingly philanthropic mayor Carmine Polito. Sometimes Renner looks genuinely motivated to do good for his city, also rather too innocent to mingle with the rest of suspicious characters. Robert DeNiro, however, portrays an old mob boss, calculatingly dangerous in short time he's on-screen.
Every minute of the movie practically boasts high level of talent, they are simply captivating, even as they desperately claw their ways by forging fictional version of themselves. Director David O. Russell succeeds in presenting these talents in near over-the-top scenes, which are fairly ridiculous but will make audience can't help but feeling there's a glitter of glamor on them. The movie is clever of its use of twist, although characters' personal struggles are still the essence.
There lie few movies that can rival American Hustle in the quantity and quality of its actors. It weaves a fantastic gripping tale of fraudulence with colorful characters, dancing with the tune of greed.