‘American Hustle’ is the story of two con artists Irving Rosenfeld and Sydney Prosser who, after getting caught for doing an illegal activity are forced to work for a FBI agent Richie DiMaso. With the help of these two con artists DiMaso tries to put some corrupted politicians and mafia behind the bars.
Irvings wife Rosalyn is crazy and unpredictable, she creates a lot of complications in DiMaso’s plan. The story is not so simple though, there are a lot of sub-plots in it which will keep you intrigued.
The movie has a splendid cast which includes Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Jeremy Renner. The casting director did a great job of bringing such amazingly talented people into one movie. There is also a superb cameo by a legendary actor, which I will not spoil here, but you will definitely be surprised after watching it.
Every actor gave remarkable performances. Christian Bale completely disappears into his role, he is nearly unrecognizable. He stole the movie! Amy Adams gave her best performance yet. She is sexy, convincing and truthful to the role. Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Jeremy Renner did an amazing job as supporting actors. Each one of the characters had a moment to shine.
The direction by David O. Russell is stunning. The style and tone of this movie is quite different from the rest of the movie he has directed but the wittiness and humour stills remains the same.
The script diverges from its main story line during the second act, which gets a little boring. Nothing much happens during it. But the third act brings the story back on track. The dialogue coming out of each actor is relevant and precise for that particular moment. It is very well thought out and intelligent. A special mention to the soundtrack, which sets the 1970's tone perfectly.
All things considered, American Hustle is a great movie powered by amazing performances and writing. The movie has some low moments but the convincing and spellbinding climax makes up for it. David O. Russell’s American Hustle is worth watching at the theatre and it certainly deserves all its Academy Award nominations.
My Rating – 4/5
Grade – A (Best One Around)
-By Chinmay Chawade