American Hustle review

[Westside Steve]

American Hustle

Sony

R 129 min

 

As you recall the last issue I mentioned that Christian Bale has become one of my favorite actors. Last time I was extremely impressed by his understated role in OUT OF THE FURNACE. A week later he's back on the screen as an over the top Jewish con man from Jersey in AMERICAN HUSTLE. I was immediately struck by the full circle (maybe that should be half circle) turn around between the two films. While FURNACE was decidedly low key and bleak HUSTLE is loud and frenetic. As a matter of fact that goes for all the characters here and I’m still trying to decide if the aggressive characterizations didn’t cross over into unnecessary over acting.

 

 

Grifters Irving Rosenfeld (Bale) and Sydney, (Amy Adams) are blackmailed by an unscrupulous FBI agent (Bradley Cooper) into participating in a sting operation against Mayor Carmen Polito.

Just about everything that could possibly complicate this already precarious situation comes to pass. First of all everybody is sleeping with everybody. Rosenfeld with his partner who is sleeping with the FBI agent to punish Rosenfeld for sleeping with his wife who is sleeping with the mobsters in retaliation. Add to that vicious quadrangle the fact that Rosenfeld wife Rosalind (Jennifer Lawrence) is that dangerous combination of smoking hot and loud mouth alcoholic. Always a recipe for disaster.

So what we have are quite a few extreme performances by some first class actors, a story about con artists, romance of sorts, a sting operation, the Mafia and the old double (quadruple?) cross. Why then didn't I love it?

Like I said the acting was almost too wild to be believed. Second the sting seemed underhanded and clumsy instead of clever. Third there’s no one to root for. Every character is a rotten bastard except, unfortunately, for the guy who gets screwed in the end, Mayor Polito. So we have a bunch of pricks and no happy ending.

 

Also I was a bit put off by the disclaimer that “some of the things depicted here actually happened.” That, I thought, makes any stab at reality meaningless. If yo9u admit you’re making most of a story up then make it more palatable.

 

B-

 

WSS

[miktoxic]

i heard from some entertainment 'show' annnoucer that it was loosely formed from the ABSCAM stings in the 70's with bankers dealings with the arabs (which i kinda remember, being that was the decade i grew up in and was high most the time).

 

anyhoo, second hand info says it was one of bale's best performances. i don't know, i thought his best was in 'the machinist' which was actually kinda hard to watch. he did the deniro right in front of your eyes and instead of gaining weight for a role he pretty much became an anorexic by the end of the movie.