User reviews

I'd heard mixed responses about this film over the years so I had to finally give it a watch. And I'm sorry to anyone that hates this film, but I really enjoyed this one!

The first half an hour or so is quite bland I'll be honest. No obvious direction for the film to go in, I wasn't too sold on any of the characters and just generally the pace was really slow.

But the film massively picks up and it just gets better and better and more interesting with every minute that passes. The ending I thought was fantastic, it ended all the characters arc's amazingly well and had a brilliant twist involved which I didn't see coming.

The standout for me is the acting. When I saw the pretty extravagant cast lineup I was skeptical. Usually films that go all in with cast typically don't do too well. So when I saw Bale, Adams, DeNiro, Renner, Lawrence, Cooper and CK and more I was thinking just that. But this doesn't fall into that category at all! Acting from everyone was superb and a real standout, really added so much more to the characters. Just a great job overall.

But yeah, overall it's a fun, interesting watch with a little touch of subtle humour added which is always nice. 8/10 from me, would recommend.

The performances are the safeguard for this movie to have a very long life. I couldn't care less about the characters but I loved the actors playing them. They, the characters, make choices that are as coarse as their wardrobe. Thank God for the people wearing them .Christian Bale is absolute perfection. His character is disgusting and irresistible at the same time. brilliant performance. Amy Adams is superb and Bradley Cooper an unnerving hoot - also the brief moment with Robert de Niro is simply delicious but it is Jennifer Lawrence who made me want to see the movie again as if to confirm what I seem to remember. Yes indeed. She is spectacular. A performance of such maturity - her laughter alone belongs to one of the great ones of yesteryear. - Totally present. A character actress/star.

It did not take an astronomical amount of time during my screening of American Hustle to realize I had found the best film of the 2013. American Hustle was not what I expected, but in the best way possible. Acting as almost a descendant of Goodfellas, it does not rip off the story or characters, but traces of Martin Scorsese's masterpiece can be found in the style and spirit of David O'Russell's now masterpiece. O'Russell keeps his controlled hand over the wild characters and fast-paced plot; for the crime movie it is, class seems high on the list of "musts."

The commenters of the screenplay have noted how much of a blast the screenplay is; a blast it is, but most are ignoring the intricacy of the screenplay by David O'Russell and Eric Singer. The groundwork is the twisty fraud story, which is snappy, entertaining, and full of surprises. The next layer is the character work of the five leading roles, the screenplay inflames all the characters to reveal their unique cores. The third layer details those characters each with their own object of symbolism including a comb over, a British accent, hair curlers, nail polish, and a science oven. Layer four is the screwball comedy dialogue exchanges between the characters, which drives comedic artistry out of the actors leaving the audience cheerfully laughing.

The most puzzling compliant about American Hustle many are holding against the film is a lack of deeper meaning. It confuses me because the deeper meaning is quite clear and abundantly there, Amy Adams and Christian Bale even have key moments of literally speaking it to the other characters. It's a story of identities, being unhappy with who you are and the different versions of ourselves we put on display as we encounter different people. We have numerous roles we must play in order to survive, whether it be for respect, love, self-worth, or community. We all do it.

David O'Russell's sight of his screenplay dares him to capture his film in a particular fashion. The camera acts as a silent third party in scenes of where, if the audience were a character in the movie, our eyes would be during the conversations such as focusing on hand gestures, zooming in to characters as they speak, and the length from the characters to the camera in his editing. Where our focus would be in person is where O'Russell places us in his vision where and when he wants us to see what.

The acting ensemble of American Hustle has been called the star of the show, collectively the five leading actors support each other through the two hours and fifteen minutes. Some have found it troubling to select one of the five as the most valuable player because all five do their homework and put the effort in. I anticipated the cast from the trailers and released clips, but I never found myself too terribly excited to see Christian Bale's work, yet he surprised me with how complete his characterization was of Irving Rosenfled. This is a trite way of describing an accomplished acting performance, but Bale warrants it here: I forgot I was watching Christian Bale, the actor, entirely.

Bradley Cooper has made a career by unleashing the inner-asshole in himself; in American Hustle he's the ultimate shade of that character type with an added vibrancy and an immaturity of not feeling respected. Jennifer Lawrence oozes in her supporting role filling the juvenile Rosalyn with hilarity and loneliness. Someone who saw American Hustle with me commented on how unlikeable Lawrence's character is and in lesser hands it may have been more predominant, but Lawrence charms her way through her character's flaws and makes us empathize with her entirely. Jeremy Renner delivers great work as well, but with fewer money moments and less "umph" than his co-stars.

The general consensus may have trouble finding an MVP of the cast, but it was no problem for me. Though I admired everything Bale, Cooper, Lawrence, and Renner added to American Hustle, it's an understatement to say the film belongs to Amy Adams. She's proved herself to be a great talent, but Adams delivers her most accomplished work here. In the Hollywood Reporter's Actress Roundtable earlier this winter, Adams commented how miserable she was during the filming of American Hustle because she was so consumed by her character's identity, or lack-there-of. I've never seen a performance like Adams or a character like Sydney. Adams slips in and out of Sydney's faux British accent as she keeps her cards hidden from all the other characters. We never knows who her loyalties belong to. Tears swell in Adams eyes as she pathologically tells the story of her character, without divulging enough information to be completely vulnerable. It's a sensational performance.

"The world isn't black and white as you say, it's extremely grey," a line Christian Bale imparts to Bradley Cooper, another existential message that is driven by the screenplay. O'Russell exhibits his two main characters, con artists, and asks us to like them enough to follow them for rest of the story. By the end, we have not only accepted them, but love and root for them.

At the heart of American Hustle is a love story between Irving and Sydney, an aspect that I found to be most successful. Adams is at her most gorgeous ever, Bale is balding and fifty pounds over. Their love is not formed around physical attraction, something magical happens in the first twenty minutes and we see and feel the way they fall in love. This supports the film's stance on appearances meaning nothing. With maybe the exception of Blue is the Warmest Color, try to find two 2013 film characters more in love than Irving and Sydney.

In the late 1970s, while America was swinging to rock n roll, exposing all its flashy jewelery over plunging necklines and under unruly hairdos, a scandalous entrapment planned by the FBI threatened several political figures and rocked the nation in its most oddly alluring time. David Russell reunites his cast from his previous best movies including 'The Fighter' and 'Silver linings playbook' to tell us the story of con artists who are led by the FBI to trap bigger fish in an attempt to expose corruption at high levels. This highly fictionalized version of the Abscam sting by the FBI has some meaningful conversations, witty dialogue and glorious nonsense in its overlong narrative.

In an era of resurgent wealth and dynamic lifestyles, success is achieved with compelling ambitions amidst increasing competitiveness, only through some hustle. Right through his childhood years of conning people for his father's business, Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) used the guise of legitimate businesses such as dry cleaning to conceal his beguiling loan schemes. Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), initially suspicious of Irving's businesses, soon becomes his partner in bed and crime. Her fake identity as Lady Edith Greensly not only attracts investors lured by her supposed British financial contacts but also by her revealing attire. Soon enough however, the con-artist duo is in the grips of FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) who intends to entrap a New Jersey Mayor along with several Congressmen. Aided by a wire operator and a bogus Sheikh Abdullah (Michael Pena) who was to provide the funds for the redevelopment, the hustling of mayor Carmine (Jeremy Renner) begins with Richie, Sydney and Irving hustling each other in the process. If that wasn't enough, Irving's loud mouthed, cleavage flashing housewife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) gets them all on the edge with her erratic outbursts and ignorance of the entrapment. This sexy looking inspiration of the Abscam operation lacks a fast-paced plot and intrigue that made other conman films such as 'Catch me if you can' and 'Argo', exciting movies. Loud characters protract several insipid sequences that outlast their importance from the script. The seriousness of the entrapment plot is often overshadowed with the digressed focus on the characters and their relationships and while this dilutes the story-telling, it isn't such a bad thing when you have such a talented cast. However, one can only go so far with just acting, good looks, sexy styles and 70s tunes. David Russell fails to engage the audience with a tight script and twists in a con-artist's story that are only few and far apart. Clearly, style over substance was his approach here with entertainment left solely upon the actors' talents.

Christian Bale put on 40lbs for this movie. It isn't the first time he has transformed himself on-screen and won't be the last. This con-man draws a line on his wrong doing and hesitates on going too big with the plan. His love for Sydney grows through the movie but always comes second to his son's well being. Irving has everything likable about him, even his weirdly meticulous wig. His softer, more intelligent character is a sharp contrast to his unabashed wife. Jennifer Lawrence plays everything that is wrong and right with the film. Rosalyn can be a big mouth, whining incessantly and trying hard to prove her worthiness. But she can also be the one character whose presence just makes you nod in disbelief about what she will do next. That uncanny ability and its unpredictable deliverance is surely Lawrence's talent at work that doesn't fail to impress. Bradley Cooper is a hot-headed FBI agent whose ambition gets the better of him. There are many scenes where he clearly improvises, such as enacting Louis C.K.'s agent Thorsen and the epic moment when Sydney lays herself out on the table for him, he gets so close and simply can't handle it. The most striking aspect of Cooper's performance is that his character is so unconvincing. He is ambitious and he has the con-artists by their necks in his elaborate plan but he is still an amateur who is guided by instinct rather than experience. Jeremy Renner's Mayor Carmine shows his devotion to his city and while it took some major hustling to draw him into the plan, those interactions with Irving were quite a delight to watch. Amy Adams looks sensational and sizzles in the chemistry she builds with Irving and Richie. She portrays wit, grace and spontaneity as they adapt to changing scenarios during the sting operation and remains ever focused on the plan. Adams may not be as loud as Lawrence nor as multi-dimensional so to speak but her screen presence is equally alluring.

David Russell hasn't showcased his fine talents in a script that needed to be funnier, wittier and tighter. The actors improvise on their greyish characters and provide more entertainment than the script possibly could. That certainly isn't the film-maker's achievement but he did choose the right cast that could pull that con off on the audience. Perhaps that is the year's biggest hustle from Hollywood that bends the audience into liking material that is portrayed to be far greater than it should be accorded for. Enjoy it for the gorgeous women, the committed actors and the stylish times but do not get ensnared in the hype surrounding this hustle.

• 6.701 on a scale of 1-10.

The acting from all round was amazing. I find it very hard to believe that Christian bale didn't win a major award for his role I thought he was the stand out actor in this along side Jennifer Lawrence. It's crazy what Bale puts his body through for roles. The ending was perfect it ended exactly how I wanted it to.

While "American Hustle" has some nice performances, I was very surprised how unexcited I was watching this film. After all, around Oscar time, this was THE film that all the hype seemed to be about and the movie hadn't even debuted yet!! Critics were abuzz and the film got all the major nominations--Best Picture, Best Director, all the acting awards and four other nominations! If I were to create a list of most overrated films of all time, I would include this one simply because of all this hype. No film could be as good as this hype would indicate...and it wasn't.

The movie is a HIGHLY fictionalized retelling of the Abscam affair where the FBI caught a lot of politicians on tape taking bribes. The ending, in particular, is pure Hollywood, not fact. But, instead of focusing mostly on the scam, the film tends to glamorize the characters involved in putting over this sting--the confidence people as well as the FBI.

So why was I so underwhelmed by the film? The biggest reason is that I didn't like any of the people. And, oddly, the one I liked the most was the mayor (Jeremy Renner) caught up in the scandal. Any film about Abscam, even one as fictional as this one, needs to show bad people-- this didn't bother me. But the film so glamorized them and was all about them--and this left me flat.

A few other things bothered me a bit. First, the f-word was not THAT commonly used in the 70s like it is used today. Historically, this is inaccurate, as it was used something like 27102391294 times. Second, while I liked the period music (as well as some new music by Jeff Lynne that sounded period), it was often too invasive--like a music video.

In closing, I think if the film had never been hyped, I might have enjoyed it a lot more and scored it higher.

A well deserved movie for all the nominations, not to mention the actors. It had something missing from being undisputed the best of the year, but so far, it is way better than the actual winner of the oscar.

American Hustle: 5 parts style,1 part substance, a chigger of period music, dirty with an expected twist

American Hustle attempts to be a David Mamet script filmed by Martin Scorsese. It's a nice try, but it doesn't live up to the challenge.

Sure, there are a couple of memorable lines, but the timing is off. Sure, there is some great period music, but it is at times awkward and plays because "we need a song here" and not because it fits. Sure, the costumes are great. They are also great costumes in San Francisco's Castro on Halloween. Sure, the characters are whack, but we don't care about them.

You don't have to care about the characters in a movie, but if you don't care about them, they have to be interesting. The characters in American Hustle are neither empathetic nor fascinating. They are retread characters from an old seventies television cop show like Baretta or Kojak. While that's not bad, it's not enough for a major Hollywood film to sustain it.

The movie starts at a climatic scene at the end of the second act and cut back to the beginning of the story, not unlike Good Fellas. However, unlike Good Fellas, there's no payoff, so to speak, at the end. The beginning is confusing and it lacks back story and development. The film is at once overly complex and predictably simple.

Sure, this movie will get its share of nominations for acting and Danny Elfman's sound track (a bright spot), but it's just not that soulful, ground breaking or hard hitting. Nor is it that entertaining.

Rating: Rent it.

It's not terrible, and the costumes are fun. However, unless you need to see wide lapels, bad comb-overs, caked on eye-shadow and long lashes larger then life, see it at home on the cheap. Better yet, rent Good Fellas, Casino, Heist or Glengarry Glen Ross to see what you, and the film makers of American Hustle, are missing.

Peace,

Tex Shelters

'American Hustle'. A amazingly entertaining and engaging experience. A successful (in my opinion) juxtaposition of art and entertainment. A wonderfully acted and directed film.

Full disclosure: I loved both 'The Fighter' and 'Silver Linings Play', plus the cast are some of my favourite actors working in motion pictures today. So, I went in with a bias and a high level of anticipation for this film. This can sometimes work against you as a viewer as your expectations are too higher and you are disappointed with the results.

I can say that I was not disappointed and absolutely loved the film. People take different experiences and sensibilities with them when they see movies, and mine led me to be engaged and empathetic towards the characters. Their story interested me and I came out of the cinema thoroughly enjoying myself.

My only criticism is that it felt it lacked a little something with story. After seeing the film I did read that a lot of the film was improvised and Christian Bale commented to David O'Russell that this would change the story. His response was that he cared about the characters more than the story (paraphrasing). On reflection this is evident as the characters and acting are first class.

I by no means acclaim this to be a perfect movie or the best movie ever made, but it worked for me. I loved it!

Fictionalized real story of the Abscam scandal. It starts in 1978 with FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) using con-man Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) and his partner Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) to catch corrupt politicians. Irving is unhappily married to Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence). Eventually they set their sights on Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner), the big New Jersey political operator.

Director David O. Russell has gathered his gang of actors to wow us with a lot of flash. It's a lot of big acting moments, wild characterizations, era music, and crazy get-ups. There is a fascinating story beneath it all. All the flash makes the story look superficial when it's not. However the flash makes it fun.

American Hustle is built as the 2013 revival of classic Scorsese gangster pictures like Goodfellas and Casino, but without the gangsters. It has the plot twists, the plethora of pop tunes, the conniving characters, the backstabbings, the high life, the low life, the disgruntled females merciless attached to crooked husbands, the stranded children, and so on. But it's new. Fresh out of the oven. Baked with wonderful performances and tight scriptwriting. And it has characters who inhabit the story and make it their own.

The movie begins in medias res, with two con men -- and one con lady -- attempting to buy out a Jersey mayor. There's a lovely opening shot of Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale, almost unrecognisable) carefully and painstakingly combing over his thinning strands of hair. This scene reminded me very much of the opening of Richard Linklater's Bernie, where a plump but serene mortician played by Jack Black joyfully lectures a scarce hall of students on the process of embalming. It's a slow scene, maybe too slow to open up a movie, but we are never bored, because we are given insight to a skill that we've never seen before, or don't know much about. It's the same with this scene. I've never seen anyone cover up bald. It's always bald being uncovered; wigs and toupees accidentally being ripped off, or blown away by strong winds. The scene also informs us that Irving is a certain kind of character.

After jumping to a series of flashbacks, in which the history between Irving and his long-time girlfriend Sydney (Amy Adams, almost unrecognisable without her makeup) is revealed to have blossomed over a shared love of Duke Ellington, the plot begins proper. Irving and Sydney -- now posing as a wealthy British banker named Edith -- have been arrested by Richie (Bradley Cooper, fully recognisable despite his hairdo), an ambitious FBI agent who thinks he has the wit and skill to take down corrupt congressmen and casino gangsters with flimsy, ill-conceived plans. He ropes Irving and Sydney into his little schemes, and soon has them taking on an entire network of illegal tradesmen.

Caught in the middle are two people: Mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner), and Irving's wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence). Carmine is the mayor whom the trio wanted to con at the start of the movie. He becomes integral to the plot when Irving develops a friendship with him. Do I tell him that I've been conning him all along, and that my innocent little scheme might get him arrested in front of his wife and six children? Or do I stay quiet, maintain the friendship, and face my conscience alone? What he does, I will not say.

Rosalyn is an interesting character. Yes, she skirts dangerously close to the Sharon Stones and Lorraine Braccos of the old Scorsese pictures, but Jennifer Lawrence is able to lift her away from them by being more grounded. Stone always seemed to operate on her own terms in Casino. She was a third wheel, functioning outside of the overall story. Here, Rosalyn is fully aware of the situation at hand. She's right smack in the middle of the story. She doesn't love Irving. Irving doesn't love her. But they both love their son, and Rosalyn doesn't want a divorce tarnishing her solid family marital integrity. But she knows that the love festering in the household is only producing toxic fumes. Where her character goes is a place best kept hidden.

And then there's a mix of other secondary characters, including perhaps the best cameo I've seen (not because of the cameo itself, but because of the meaning of the cameo). All of them dip in and out of this intelligent story with impact. Why, even Richie's boss, Stoddard Thorsen (Louis C.K.), is a lovely guy. He provides much of the movie's humour, and there is much of it. Director David O. Russell has said that his goal with American Hustle was to focus on the characters instead of the plot. Indeed, what a good decision. It's a rare moment when not a single character seems out of place. They complement each other, whether they're kissing, punching, clawing, or scratching. And they share so much chemistry that you could select any two of them at random, chuck them into an empty room, and watch them chatter till their throats went dry.

I attended a screening of this movie in Mandurah, which is a lovely place. The cinema had maybe nine other patrons (weird, considering it was opening day). I'd been to Mandurah a few times before, and I watched The Counselor there. That was a poor movie, but the screening was smooth, which is more than I can say for the screening of this film. With about 15 minutes to go, the video jammed and stuttered slowly to a halt. It's the first time I've seen digital video jam. And it couldn't have happened at a worse time. The projectionist eventually rectified the problem, but I had already been sucked out of the moment. That's a pity, because American Hustle was shaping up to be one of the best movies of the year. You know what? Screw it. It still is.

The critic reviews and general reception around this film would have you believe you may be watching a classic.

I hope for films sake, this one fades away.

Top actors does not a good film make.

It was hard to stay engaged throughout and even the opening 30 minutes fail to capture you. Lacking climax and excitement. No characters presented any threat or danger along the way. Story runs in 2nd gear throughout.

It's possible 2013 was lacking any quality story telling, and with the support of 'American' in the title, maybe that was enough to get this film into the theatres.

You can comfortably skip this one.

'American Hustle' is another movie that I've really wanted to see for a long time. It's probably because I love the 70s, or whatever. When it was finally released in good ol' England, it did not disappoint.

Coming into this with only having seen 'Silver Linings Playbook' as some of O Russell's previous work, I didn't really know what to expect. Although that was very good, it is completely different on many levels, so whatever this was, it was going to be fresh.

As not to spoil anything, I won't go through the film scene by scene, but I have to say this film met and (to an extend) exceeded my expectations. There was noting I didn't like about it, because everything and everyone was just so brilliant. First off, the acting was superb. The improv that the actors pull off made it all so much more real, because you felt that they were just letting themselves run with the story and script. When the tensions rise (which frequently happens during this film), you feel for these characters, because for a second they really are Riche Dimasso or Irving Rosenfelt. It also added a lot of the humour, which showed that, although it primarily felt like a drama, it didn't take it's self too seriously, which is so fresh and needed in Hollywood right now.

For me, J Law's acting talent stole the show. I saw her in 'Silver Linings' and the first 'Hunger Games' a while back, so again I didn't have any real preconception of what she would be like. But in this movie, her acting was just on another level. Every scene she was in carried so many emotions, and you'd couldn't tell if she was going to explode at any point (a'la the bathroom scene with Sydney). The things her character gets herself into in this film, even while she's still at home, are just out right slap your knee hilarious, especially the argument scenes.

Direction was a large positive for this. The way the camera moves is so subtle yet so effective. There are a lot of clichés that it could have fallen into, but O' Russell was very clever, and everything about the way he directed it was planned out perfectly. The camera seems to interact with the characters emotions, so you're really seeing this on more than one level.

The story was another element that made it so brilliant for me. Well, that was at the end. I loved the way it ended. It's just as the film plays out, you're so engrossed in the amazing performances, style, characters and humour, it gets hard to keep track of the story. Not on the level of the new 'Doctor Who' episodes, which have plot lines so ridiculously convoluted. You weren't supposed to get it at the start, as your just thrown into this world of eccentric, self absorbed con-men. You get the general idea throughout, with what's happening and what they're aiming to do, but when it got to the end, I didn't get some of the things they were taking about that seemed important ('Did I miss all of that? Was that when that old guy walked in to the cinema with a 20 year old something girlfriend and I lost focus for a bit?'). I heard that O' Russell was more focused on the characters, and lost a lot of story to allow room for Improv, so I guess it's OK if you don't get all of it. I didn't and still thoroughly enjoyed it. There are times during the film when I thought "Wow, that's a brilliant way to end a movie", and then it suddenly carried on and wasn't over, and the story got even more compelling. The way it wrapped up was a feat of true story telling.

I'm not one for movies about money and mafias and cons and all that, but aside from that, it's just as much a tale about relationships and what people are really like. The story of Irving's relationship with his family and Sydney plays out so well, and you feel things for them as their relationship changes, and when Cooper's character enters their unique workforce.

This film really benefited from the actors improvising, as it lead to some very funny moments. Obviously meaning to be funny, like the scene on the the jet and Roselyn's explanations for everything Irving throws at her. I meant that scene where she cleans the house to Live and Let Die is hilariously awkward to watch, with her little son just sitting there and watching his mom give an angry yet powerful rendition of the Wings song.

Bale portrayed Irving brilliantly. When things get tough for him, he excellently shows how a man of his status and ideology breaks down, bit by bit. You start the realize that even though he's so eccentric and rich, he still only human. I think Jeremy Renner deserves credit for that too. Not in the sense that his character goes through the same stuff as Bale's, but in that he was played with so much heart and honesty.

Something that hasn't been seen for a while in Movie-Land, 'American Hustle' is a unique film that gets in the audience up close and personal with every main character they see. The story could have been clearer, but heck, 'Badlands' had little story and that was brilliant too. It makes way for the improvisation, which adds so much and another dynamic to the story and experience.

I feel like I got conned into watching this movie. Thankfully it was not on my own buck. Yet I feel I lost time in a day that otherwise would have been very productive. The star-studded cast makes you think this would probably be the best movie of the year but it is not even close. The acting, the story, the directing it's too pretentious. I think Mr. Russell needs a lesson in humility, so does Mr. Bale and Ms. Lawrence. What is this movie? a con movie, a movie about struggle to survive, a movie about revenge, It's hard to decide. It's a piece of S##T for sure. I am still giving it 6/10 for Ms. Adams' and Mr. Coopers' almost over the top but still an average performance.

I knew nothing about this film when we sat down in the cinema tonight to see it, so I had no expectations. But from the opening moments I found myself completely engaged by the acting, and interested in the characters straight away.

Christian Bale has not done much for me in recent years, but he was captivating in this, and in every single scene. His physical transformation into a slightly overweight conman with a bad comb-over was enhanced by his believable character portrayal, and I have renewed respect for him now as an actor that can be damn interesting to watch.

Bradley Cooper was brilliant, as was Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence, and Louis C.K.. There wasn't a single person that didn't pull their weight, and it makes the film's more-than-2-hour-length fly by.

There's not much in the way of physical action...in fact, I can't think of anything any action at all really...but the drama of the film is so well handled that action simply isn't necessary. Even the comedic moments were handled superbly.

I'd love to criticise something, cos no film is perfect, but this is a tough one to find fault with...maybe I would have left out Lawrence's dance scene when she mimed to Live and Let Die, cos it felt slightly at odds with the rest of the film in my opinion, but that's being seriously harsh.

So, to sum up, if you want a movie with top acting, big stars, brilliant dialogue, no over-the-top action and a well thought out story (with some historical truth mixed in), then this one is for you.

Trust me, you won't be sorry!

American Hustle is all about large characters, outlandish fashion and awful hair. It may tease you into thinking it's some kind of smart con- artist movie with it's (very loosely) based-on-real-events premise ("some of this actually happened", the opening credits inform us) and snappy trailer. But for all visual pizazz, this is in fact a very small movie, focusing on a small set of unique and frequently bizarre characters that just happen to cross paths amidst the ABSCAM operation in the late 70's and early 80's. Imagine if the characters from I Heart Huckabees (2004) were in fact the people who took part in the operation covered in Argo (2012), and you'll have something akin to American Hustle.

Paunchy con-artist and loan-shark Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) hooks up with the beautiful Sydney (Amy Adams), an intelligent and ambitious American girl who improves Irving's scams by pretending to be an English aristocrat. When they are busted by creepy FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper), they are promised leniency if they assist the Bureau in making four additional arrests. The plan is to entrap popular Mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner), who is looking to inject funds into gambling in Atlantic City, by having a friend pose as an Arab sheik looking for potential investments in America. As Irving, Richie and Sydney delve further into the sting, things start to spiral wildly out of control, as Irving's loud-mouth wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) can't seem to keep her mouth shut, and Richie develops feelings for Sydney.

As said before, the plot plays second-fiddle to director David O. Russell's obvious fascination with this ensemble of weirdo's. Surprisingly, it's the slimy swindler at the centre of it all, Irving, that comes out of it the most recognisably human. In the opening scene, we see a shockingly bloated Bale, slapping his awful toupee across his head to cover up an embarrassing hairline. Is this the American Dream at work, a petty criminal posing as a sophisticated, honest guy? Well, no, American Hustle doesn't need to try and touch those metaphorical heights, but this is the type of person we're to spend the next two-plus hours with. An apparently successful sort of guy, covered in gold and eyes covered by tinted sunglasses, but hiding something fragile or dangerous that may soon reveal itself.

The performances are spectacular, as one would expect. Bale manages to make you actually root for his slimeball character, and Jennifer Lawrence shows that she seems able to tackle any role or character with aplomb. Cooper does a job similar to his previous work with Russell, Silver Linings Playbook (2012), but even betters that. He seems to have the uncanny ability to make you instantly know there's just something wrong with his character, and when we see him at dinner with the fiancée he clearly doesn't love or respect, his hair bunched up in tiny little rollers, there's something simply tragic about him. And Amy Adams, let loose here to reveal an unseen feistiness, wins the award for Side-Boob of the Year.

The whole thing is a rather strange experience, never really falling into a recognisable genre or taking a conventional approach to storytelling. It could only really come from the mind of David O. Russell, the only director that seems able to combine a mixture of mainstream commercial success, nominations and awards a-plenty, and independent sensibilities, never really moving away from his own vision. It's not a total success of course - Irving's admiration from the 'moral' Mayor Polito, who just wants to rejuvenate Atlantic City, seems a bit of a sympathy quick-fix, and no-one can out-Scorsese Martin Scorsese. Well, maybe Paul Thomas Anderson can. But American Hustle is a big dose of strangely endearing entertainment, that even when it outstays it's welcome towards the end still made me want to spend more time with the characters.

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Watching American Hustle one of the things that truly got to me was how back in the day when J. Edgar Hoover ran the FBI nobody like Bradley Cooper's character could ever have gotten employed in that agency. Let alone have the FBI use someone like Christian Bale as a pawn in a sting. Hoover was such a stickler for straight arrow types that Cooper could never have gotten in the door. Of course Hoover also never went after organized crime, but I can't help thinking that his quirks about dress and deportment weren't completely bad after seeing American Hustle.

American Hustle is the story of the Abscam scandal and with a lot of poetic license it's an account of how it was almost an accident that several members of Congress were ensnared with bribery charges.

Our protagonist is Christian Bale who plays a low level conman, but one who is good. He's got as a sidekick Amy Adams who affects an English accent as part of their modus operandi. He and Adams are both trapped by FBI agent Bradley Cooper who in his own way is as much con artist as they are. Instead of arresting them, he admires the way they work and turns them into his own operatives.

It's impossible to proceed with further plot description. The investigation just gets away from any control and instead of mobsters they're taking down members of Congress who are bribed to get citizenship for phony Arab sheik. In the end Bale has to use some of the techniques employed in The Sting to get out from under.

American Hustle is about a world that is intoxicating and dangerous. Bale and Cooper are evenly matched pair of allied antagonists. Amy Adams sure gets her innings in. There's also Jennifer Lawrence whom you will not forget as Bale's wife who with her own selfish dizziness may get them all killed. All four were nominated for acting Oscars and not one of them won. In fact 10 nominations went to American Hustle and it did not take home a winner.

All four of these players sublimate their own personalities into their characters to a degree rarely seen. Christian Bale in most of his films does that to a degree I've not seen since Paul Muni. But that all four did here is a tribute to director David O. Russell.

Like the Scorsese classics Goodfellas and Casino, American Hustle changes all the names so a lot of license can be used. And of course with Robert DeNiro playing a small, but unforgettable role as mob boss, the identification is complete.

American Hustle is a film not to be missed.

The movie was ok, it was not a bad movie but also not an extraordinary movie. I am probably the only here who didn't like the movie that much. There is not much happening in the movie and it is a lot of talking.

The story is about a FBI agent who is a little bit crazy and who forces two small hustlers (hence the title) to work with him together to arrest some big fishes. The movie is - if I got this right - basing partly on a true story.

I can't say anything bad about the performance of the actors, as always Christian Bale was excellent in the movie. However American Hustler is not a movie I would watch a second time, but I can still recommend the movie though, I am sure other people will like it, I guess it was just nothing for me.