Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

American Hustle

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • American Hustle

    My friend and I saw American Hustle at the Ward Theater this afternoon. This movie takes place in the late 1970's and it is about an FBI agent trying entice a couple of con artists to give him bigger criminals to justice.

  • #2
    Re: American Hustle

    This is the best movie I’ve seen this year (along with Gravity). The storyline is complicated and somewhat convoluted, so it can be hard to follow; after all, it’s about a con job, a big con. But for me, the heart of this movie is the characters (therefore actors and acting take center stage), and that’s what carries this film. I don’t think I’ve seen another movie with an ensemble cast that gives such outstanding performances throughout, particularly Christian Bale, and especially Amy Adams. Jennifer Lawrence gives an electrifying performance in a small role (the previews make it seem larger), and her character is unforgettable. But it is Amy Adams who really stands out. I’ve always seen her in roles that portray her as sweet, likeable, sparkly, perky. But here, her role is more complicated, darker, multi-layered. She’s a chameleon (a smart one at that) who somehow doesn’t know who she is. Everyone in this movie is conning everyone else, even themselves. A wonderful movie. Highly recommended.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: American Hustle

      American Hustle (2013)
      Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Louis C.K., Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence. Directed by David O. Russell.

      American Hustle is an excellent period piece, visually almost a sequel to last year’s Argo. The art direction in this thing is excellent, and it’s great to look at from beginning to end. I’m mentioning that first because it’s really the acting that everyone else is talking about, and while the acting is very good, it works in equal partnership with the look and feel of its world to really accomplish what it sets out to do.

      I know very little about the ABSCAM scandal of the 1970s, so I don’t know how accurate any of this movie is. However, I’m very familiar with the actors who play the principal roles, and they all succeed in showing a little more range than I think most of us might have predicted they’d have.

      Christian Bale plays Irving Rosenfeld, a small-time scam artist who connects desperate people to loans they can’t afford, then takes their ten percent application fees without delivering the loans. His partner in these scams is Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), who affects an English accent that gives loan applicants a false sense of confidence that everything is legit.

      Irving and Sydney are doing all right until they get busted by an FBI agent named Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper), a capable agent who has huge ambitions. When he figures out that Irving and Sydney might be able to help him nab a local politician (Jeremy Renner, in a very surprising portrayal), he sets his sights first on the mayor of Atlantic City and then he sets them even higher on Congressmen and mobsters.

      The plot gets a little confusing, but it clears up a bit as the film moves along, and even if it doesn’t, the performances by Adams, Renner, Cooper, Lawrence, and several others in small roles (including Michael Pena and Robert DeNiro) are so enjoyable that it doesn’t really matter. There are elements of movies like Confidence, where you’re not really sure whom to believe and you’re not sure who’s on whose side, and I suppose there might be a way to follow along and try to figure it out. I chose just to watch it all unfold, wondering how such a small-potatoes guy like Irving (whose scores are usually in the five- to ten-thousand dollar range) is going to come out clean on the other side of a one-step-ahead triangle involving the mafia, the FBI, and Congress.

      A fun movie, and if I weren’t already in love with Amy Adams, this is a film that would do it. There isn’t a frame of film she’s not beautiful in, and for her to be the most interesting thing in a film with performances like this is testament to her unique screen presence.

      8/10 (IMDb rating)
      81/100 (Criticker rating)
      But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
      GrouchyTeacher.com

      Comment

      Working...
      X