excellent characters, great script, superb acting

Rating: 10/10 (16 January 2014)

Most in-famous sting operation? Tehalka of course for us. But for the US, it was ABSCAM in the late 70s, where the FBI enrolled an expert con man to trap corrupt officials, which led to the conviction of a United States Senator, and six members of the United States House of Representatives among others. Enough entertainment in the tale, just needed a little bit of spice to make it stand out, and director David O Russell does just that in colorful style with impossibly crazy characters in American Hustle.
"You are nothing to me unless you are everything" - Sydney Prosser
It is 1978, and in this fact-fiction mash-up, con artists Irving Rosenfield (Christian Bale in an almost unrecognizable half-bald hairdo), and Sydney Prosser (a stupendously sexy Amy Adams) are partners and have successfully pulled off loan scams and forged artwork for a few years. Irving is sly and laid-back, Sydney is all smarts, steel and driven- the perfect foil. Scheming FBI agent Richie Di Maso (a stylish Bradley Cooper) catches the pair and agrees to let them off only if they help him make four big ticket arrests. Throw into the mix Irving's unstable wife Rosalyn (a scene stealing Jennifer Lawrence) who is best described by Irving as " The Picasso of passive-aggressive karate", pretty much hell breaks loose 30 minutes into the film. Shades of Scorsese in Russell's work as the script goes hula hoops as characters begin double and triple crossing each other. All the main characters have are crazy in one way or the other but have one thing in common- they are all losers who think they are winners.
The leads do a fantastic job, no wonder all of them have been nominated for the Academy awards. Bale's Irving could not be more different than his Batman. Paunchy, pathetically focused on the final strands of hair on his head, he is kind of a romantic hero caught between his wife and his lover- both being different kind of nuts. Cooper is passionate and ambitious. Adams is the stripper who has reinvented herself as the classy girl, while the beautiful yet unhinged Lawrence is the proverbial spanner. The who is who of Hollywood keep popping in to make things stand out even more. There is comedian Louis CK as a FBI boss, Jeremy Renner trades his bow and arrows for an Elvis pompadour and a gullible corrupt New Jersey mayor, Michael Pena is a Sheikh, and since this is a film that is as much about gangsters as it is about corrupt officials, Robert De Niro has to be there too!
Does the end justify the means? American Hustle does not ponder much on morality and corruption. Instead it focuses more on creating delightful characters going bonkers to a witty script to the tune of a dreamy background score (Bee Gees, Sinatra, David Bowie, Santana, Elton John, Chicago). pretty much all that we can ask for from a movie.
Must watch- 10/10