Amy Adams outshines them all - even Jennifer Lawrence

Rating: Null/10 (14 March 2014)

So, David O. Russell hates plots, he's quoted as telling Christian Bale. Well that's evident from this movie. Other than a reward for ensemble cast - which is a category for some awards and which this cast did win - this movie definitely does not belong in the best film category. Consequently, you will notice that I don't mention any of the character names because I can't remember them because the plot is very thin.
The acting was absolutely fantastic, though. If the director set out to make a movie that simply showcased each actor, he succeeded. But, a movie really has to be more.
I was riveted by Amy Adams, who I find fascinating, enthralling, and very, very sexy in a fresh-scrubbed way. She was Stunning, in the literal sense, as I was actually distracted when he was on-screen: looking at her face, her eyes, her lips, her chest, her legs, her gorgeous hair, and OMG the clothes and shoes! Her acting! Just wow. I would not have it any other way, even though I missed some of the details of the movie; I'll see it again later for the other stuff. I haven't had this reaction since seeing Kristen Scott Thomas in GOSFORD PARK. Every time her face came on-screen (a lot and close-up), everything else disappeared. Same thing here. Of course, some of the shots were of just Amy's shoe. Same reaction.
On a side note, I could not help thinking of Julianne Moore as Amber Waves in BOOGIE NIGHTS. This was an extremely happy memory for me as its when I began to truly follow Julianne Moore's career and I haven't been disappointed since. I believe this is where I start to follow Amy's career with the same focus.
Amy's face is amazing because you can see everything about her character in it. And, it's so complex a portrayal that the lifting of an eyebrow or the twitch of a lip betrays some completely opposing emotion that's also happening with this character on a deeper level. Layer upon layer. I adore these complexities and it's why I love actors and great movies they are in. Amy is featured here as much more than a face; her entire body is used to tell the story -- truly shown off in ways we've never seen. And the belly button-cut dresses only scratch the surface of how revealing the camera is of her body. I know now that she's got lot of freckles on her legs, too, what her toes look like, and even as she's gotten so thin in Hollywood. I also know now that she bleaches her teeth; I don't particularly like this because it's the essence of Hollywood fake-ness now. Nevertheless, I could watch Amy all day. I plan to buy the DVD later so I can do just that!
I was so entertained by Jennifer Lawrence that I could barely stand it. I giggled almost non-stop when she was on screen that I actually worried I may be bothering others in the theater. Also,with Jennifer, I constantly felt tense because she was like a live wire and you never knew what she'd do next. I remember Sarah Paulson saying that working with Michael Fassbender on 12 YEARS A SLAVE was challenging / exciting because he is dangerous in his acting. Same here, though lots of times you cringe over what her character just said and did. But she's such a fun roller coaster ride.
Christian Bale, as always, is amazing. It's sad because he's raised the bar for himself so high that I expect nothing less of him now. I do have to note here that it disturbs me how drastically he changes his body, and so frequently, for movie roles. This can't be healthy and it seems to me kind of pointless and unnecessary. It DISTURBS me. Please stop.
I don't know much about Bradley Cooper but I hated his character so much I really wished he would just go away. He has giant, blindingly white teeth, so I found this distracting - but not in a good way. He was the too-loud, popular guy in school who clowns behind the teacher's back. You just want him to shut the hell up. Although, I will say that I LOVED his pseudo-perm! It really tickled me.
I can't stand Jeremy Renner. He was a tough face in an obvious wig. His character was the king of Con, so much so that he had conned himself with his own B.S. -- a regular politician in other words.
Elisabeth Rohm had a great turn in this. I was drawn to her character but could not place her face. Eventually the credits told me it was her. I'm quite happy to see her in higher quality gigs.
What else? Back to plot. They could he shortened the movie by leaving the DeNiro character out. He was fluff and I was not awed by his presence or anything so, MEH whatever.
Overall, an exciting ride but a little loose and meaningless to some extent as an overall movie. I only give it a high rating because of the superb acting and the thrill I got from seeing these performances (oh, and the clothes, too). Hilarious with Jennifer Lawrence. Grounded by the magnificent Amy Adams. All hail Amy - forevermore, a shining star.