Great actors, uninteresting storyline

Rating: Null/10 (1 April 2014)

When I walked in to see American Hustle, I expected to see a period piece with high stages, con artists, visually pleasing locations, beautiful women, handsome men, twists, plots, counterplots, bluffs and reveals, all that good stuff. Essentially a caper film with star studded cast.
Well... I got some of that. It certainly wasn't what I was expecting. What I ended up getting can't really be called a caper film. Sure it has all the elements of one, but the tone, the focus and the way the story was told are all vastly different. It's more of a crime comedy-drama, which isn't a flaw per se, but it's something you need to take into account before you raise your expectations.
The greatest strength of American Hustle is its cast. All the main actors are amongst Hollywood's finest and it shows. Christian Bale has once again undergone a mindboggling physical change and completely loses himself into the role of Irving Rosenfeld, a pudgy conman with "an elaborate combover". And the rest are equally as talented and they do have chemistry together.
Unfortunately the plot leaves something to be desired. It's not bad, really. It's just that at the moment of writing this review, about a month after watching the film, I have difficulties remembering what the story was all about. There was something about a cop trying to bust some corrupt officials, something about a sheik, that one scene with Robert De Niro (easily the best one in the movie), some marital angst, Christian Bale showing off his beer belly... And that's about all I can remember. Not a very memorable movie, is what I'm saying. The film makers clearly had an idea they were going for. They were trying to shoot a bit more realistic caper film with heavy touches of unscrupulous humour, but they ended up juggling one ball too many and the whole thing lost its focus.
Still, not a bad film and I'm pleased I saw it once. The productions values are really high, especially in the costuming department, the acting is topnotch and it managed to elicit a few laughs from me. If you can enjoy a movie simply for its charm and its characters, then this is an easy recommendation. But if you're looking for a clever plot with deep meanings, keep looking.