American Hustle: Don't Get Hustled By This Con

Rating: 5/10 (9 January 2014)

Everybody has to do what they can to survive, even if what they do lies on the illegal side of things. The same goes for Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale). A con-man for the majority of his life, Rosenfeld has quickly become one of the best in the business. Dabbling in fake loans and fake artwork, Rosenfeld makes a good living for himself. Business only gets better for Irving when he meets Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) – the woman he quickly falls in love with, even though he is married to his wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence). Sydney joins the business with Irving and things run smoothly, until they run into F.B.I. Agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper).
After DiMaso takes Prosser to jail and holds her there for three days, Irving cuts a deal. He agrees to run four cons with DiMaso to take down some criminals, and in return, Rosenfeld and Prosser walk. Their plan goes off without a hitch, until DiMaso gets addicted to and mentally sickened by the case when he learns that the lovable Mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner), hailing from New Jersey, is as dirty as they come. With the con in full swing, Rosenfeld realizes he is in way over his head, and needs to hustle his way out.
There's really no need to sugarcoat anything – American Hustle is not a good film – mainly because of the acting. Before I begin ranting about all that was bad about the movie, I do want to quickly rave about two things: the story, and Christian Bale. First, the concept of American Hustle is really intriguing, and I do genuinely see the appeal that most of the country sees in the film. The hustling and con-artist world is a fascinating world and the story, not the script, the story is written very well. Christian Bale is absolutely fantastic. Bale easily saves this movie. His acting is brilliant and flawless. He is definitely deserving of an Oscar nomination, and has a legitimate shot, in my opinion, to challenge Tom Hanks. Also, it is worth noting, that Jeremy Renner also does a commendable and noteworthy job in the movie.
Now, to the problems. Starting off with Bradley Cooper: I do have to say his performance isn't terrible. It is, however, strange. I never once got a sense of who Richie DiMaso is. One minute he's calm and smart, the next he's a drunken maniac, and then the next he's a sobbing idiot. Normally, I would commend drastic emotional changes like this, however it comes across as confusing and weird. Next, onto Jennifer Lawrence. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why she was in the movie. The director must still be drunk over the success of Silver Linings Playbook in 2012. Lawrence's character is completely unnecessary and sloppily written. I would bet a serious amount of money that David O. Russell created Rosalyn Rosenfeld for the sole purpose of having Lawrence in the movie. And another thing, to be honest, Lawrence is terrible in the movie. Her acting is obviously fake and forced, and, I'm sorry but it's just plain awful. Finally, to Amy Adams. Her character I liked, her I did not. American Hustle would have been much, much better if someone else was cast in the role of Sydney Prosser. I'm sorry, but Amy Adams plays the role in the same old, lifeless manner she plays all her other roles.
Also, to the director, David O. Russell: what were you thinking? Yes, The Fighter worked, and yes, Silver Linings Playbook worked, and I get it, many directors like to recycle the actors they use for many of their films (Christopher Nolan comes to mind), but that doesn't mean it always works. You cannot mush the casts of two movies together and assume it will work – and here, it did not. Bale worked, but Adams, Cooper, and Lawrence flamed out, which really made the movie suffer. Also, Robert De Niro has a miniscule part in the film which bothered me. Why? Why do you need to bring in a talent like De Niro to have him be in the movie for around five minutes? What is the point of that? Is it maybe because he too was in Silver Linings Playbook and you hoped throwing him in there would make things work again? If that's the answer, shame on you David O. Russell.
With all the ranting I've done, it sounds like I'm about to give American Hustle an awful rating, and I will not be recommending it. I'm not doing either of those things. I completely understand the appeal to American Hustle, believe me, I wanted nothing more than to like this movie. My major problem was the cast of the film, aside from Bale and Renner. All in all, Bale, Renner, and the concept saved this movie from being a tragic failure. As for recommending it, I cannot sit here and say "see it" or "don't see it" because I am in the middle. There are good qualities that bring it up, and there are bad qualities that bring it right back down. In the end, all I can say is, if you want to take your chances, go ahead, but be very cautious.
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