American Hustle

****
Release Date: December 20th 2013

A con man, Irving Rosenfeld, along with his seductive British partner, Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild FBI agent, Richie DiMaso. DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia.

Director: David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook, The Fighter)

Starring: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner

American Hustle is David O' Russell's third film in four years that will hit the award ceremonies by storm. Working with four out of the five main stars before (Christian Bale and Amy Adams in The Fighter and Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook) it's no surprise that this film has a lineup of fine acting potential, and by god do they pull it off!

A small time scam couple, Irving (Bale) and Sydney (Adams) are con artists who get roped into helping out FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Cooper) hustle mafia gangsters by double crossing and bluffing politicians, one being Carmine Polito (Renner), a politician with plenty of power.

Irving's wife Rosalyn (Lawrence) is crazy enough to be the one to let slip their plans that could bring them into turmoil.

With the opening credits including a sentence saying 'most of this is true' followed by Irving's attempt at applying a toupee mixed with funky perms and 70's slick clothing makes American Hustle a film not to be taken seriously, but individually, their own little worlds are incredibly important with the utmost sincerity keeping it together.

This may come hand in hand with the fact that everyone in AH is a bit nuts. Christian Bale's (it must be said that anyone who fluctuates in weight this much for different roles deserves major credit) Irving has little going for him bar his tendency to get others to do what he wants. Both his marriage and affair have their ups and downs, and in Irving's world it's the norm.

Sydney's translucent facade is not as clear-cut as we might think. She is forever playing a game, so she will never be fully understood and her sexy demeanor will leave all feeling lustful or envious. DiMaso is fixated on taking down the mafia to the point of needing anger management, whist Rosalyn blackmails and blames others to get what she wants. Robert De Niro's cameo has an evil and ominous presence that hasn't been felt in years since 1995's Heat.

Incorporate the great performances with a glorious soundtrack and you'll easily forget that the outcome isn't as amazing as the hustle intended it to be.

Overview: A subtly funny film that shows how risque and glamorous the 70's could be. A must see for the acting.