American Hustle

AMERICAN HUSTLE

Director : David O. Russell

Year : 2014

Genre : Crime/Comedy

Rating : **

 

In the cinema world, January means the beginning of awards season and this year is proving to be no different. Kicking off 2014, David O. Russell's crime comedy 'American Hustle' has been nominated for 10 BAFTAS, seven Golden Globes and any number of other prolific prizes. With a cast which includes Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Jeremy Renner as well as the directorial eye of one of the most popular American filmmakers working behind the camera today, 'American Hustle' has all of the ingredients to be a top notch work. Indeed, the movie has topped many critics lists of the best films of 2013 and I am sure that it will crown the countdowns of many British critics come December. However, it will certainly not feature near mine. The acting is good and the soundtrack is one of the best I have heard in ages, but the narrative is constantly lost in overly idiosyncratic monologues, an annoying almost improvisational screenplay and far too many characters to hold our attentions for it's extensive running time. There are individual scenes which are entertaining enough, but thanks to an overly complicated plot and far too many twists and turns in the various characer arcs, I found myself losing interest in the story, the characters and the overall goal of the film. Yes, it may be Oscar fodder and it may well bag a few on the big night, but I far as I am concerned, 'American Hustle' is a good looking, well acted mess with far too many plot devices and not enough grounded story to keep us on board.

Based on the famous ABSCAM operation of the late 1970's and early 80's, the film focuses on the lives of Irving Rosenfield and Sydney Prosser (played by Bale and Adams respectively) who are prolific con artists who pose as man and wife to execute convoluted and elaborate scams in New Jersey. However while performing a con in a loan office, they are caught red handed by FBI agent Richie Di Maso (Cooper) and are given an ultimatum. They can either do jail time or they can assist Maso in carrying out four more arrests. Relucantly agreeing to the proposal, Irving and Sydney soon find themselves entangled in a web of deceit and two faced villains; from the corrupt mayor (Renner) to a mafia don (played in a fleeting cameo by Robert De Niro).

In terms of recent Academy Award success, there is no director who can touch David O. Russell. His last two movies 'The Fighter' and 'Silver Linings Playbook' have earned a total of 15 Oscar nods, both including Best Picture and Best Director and many of his actors have gone on to win their respective awards, actors including Christian Bale (Best Supporing Actor for 'The Fighter') and Jennifer Lawrence (Best Actress for 'Silver Linings Playbook'). So is it any surprise that his latest film would garner the same critical praise? Of course not. If there is anything the Academy loves, it is consistency and I have no doubt that 'American Hustle' will be nominated for a wheelbarrow full of awards. However, amongst such rivalry as 'Gravity', 'Captain Phillips' and '12 Years A Slave', I don't think it has much of a chance of winning the biggies. It doesn't have any of the energy or verve that the other contenders have and compared to much of Russell's previous works, it feels a bit of a downer. This is strange for a film that designates a huge amount of it's running time on it's overly complex narrative and quirky characterisations. It may be strange to say due to the fact that it is based on a true story but 'American Hustle' lacks any sense of realism or genuinity and this does prove to be it's biggest fault.

Unlike many other heist movies, 'American Hustle' does a very poor job of showing the various plot points of the con and this does leave us a bit lost, only pushing out of the film that little bit more. The joy of watching a film like this is seeing how the various cogs of the plan fit together so that we can see the ways in which these people get what they want. Instead, 'O Russell shows us the outcomes of the numerous plans through wordy explanations and confusing flashbacks. We never truly know who we are meant to be on the side of and this does make the picture seem quite antagonistic. It is as if we are not meant to understand the operation, rather allow it to happen behind closed doors and make up the rest in our minds. I appreciate directors who try and allow the viewer to use their imaginations, but not when it means that he/she can just not bother to show us anything at all. Of course by the end of the picture everything comes together (in a rather rushed and anticlimactic way), but I left the screening with the feeling that many of the scenes and conversations were there just to fill out the screenplay and the overall running time. In the hands of another director, the story of the ABSCAM con could have been told in a much more tighter and compact way and I wish that 'O Russell had concentrated just as much on the narrative as he did on his characterisations.

As previously mentioned, the cast are very good and each do an excellent job of building their characters and trying to get us to believe and route for them, whether protagonist or intended antagonist. However, the diversity in archetypes and the muddled way in which they are thrown quite haphazardly into the narrative does distract from the drive and the whole motivation of the picture. Christian Bale and Amy Adams have good chemistry together as a posing couple and Bradley Cooper is charismatic and convincing as an FBI agent who appears to turn to the side he is meant to be against thanks to love. However, while these actors do a very good job, Jennifer Lawrence steals the show as Christian Bales needy and volatile wife who fights for love and the happiness of her son. While I may not like the film, Jennifer Lawrence's performance is something that is needed to be seen although she isn't given a lot of screen time to develop their characterisations or overall motivations.

It is a shame that 2014 has begun with such a disappointment. Ever since I saw the posters and trailers for 'American Hustle', I was looking forward to it and the prospect of David 'O Russell reuniting with all of these actors again was a promising one. Unfortunately an overly baggy script and a fondness for unrealistically quirky characters make the movie quite a drag. At just over two hours, it outstays its welcome relatively quickly and rather than pulling us into the intentionally tense and exciting plot, we are pushed out by too many eccentricisms and the desire to be Oscar bait. I would love to say that 'American Hustle' is worth a watch, but I can't recommend it. It may have been a critical success overseas, but I don't believe that it will receive the same kind of reception over here, where the vastly Americanised dialogue and unrecognisable character types will fly over the British public's heads.