A great film, not to be missed!

Rating: 10/10 (24 December 2013)

In American vernacular, "hustle" has several definitions. One of the definitions is "to cheat". Another reference is a type of dance, popular in the 70s disco craze. "American Hustle" is about a con job that is choreographed better than any dance move you can think of. The first screen capture read "some of this actually happened". The true part of the film is easy to recognize. During the waning days of the 70s, the US Feds operated a sting operation meant to capture corrupt US politicians. ABSCAM generated a lot of headlines and, if you're interested in the details, Google is your friend. The good part of the film, though, is a fictional story of how a couple of grifters get recruited by the Feds. Robert DeNiro is on screen less than a minute, in an uncredited role of a possibly corrupt casino owner, and he's substantially more menacing than his role in the execrable celluloid cesspool "Malavita". Jennifer Lawrence portrays a completely out-of-control wife, and her performance reminded me of Elizabeth Taylor in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf". This movie is a gem, and I highly recommend it.