Everyone Hustles to Survive

American Hustle is a 2013 film, directed and written by David O. Russell starring a large ensemble cast including Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Jeremy Renner. The film is loosely adapted from the ABSCAM sting operation which the FBI undertook during the late seventies. The film is highly fictionalized, and the characters are essentially charicatures of their real life counterparts.

The performances in the film are astounding, and it is worth seeing simply for these alone. Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper have great chemistry, and Amy Adams does a fantastic job of playing a woman who has played so many different people in order to survive, that she has forgotten who she is, plus her british accent is fantastic. But this films real star is Jennifer Lawrence, i have perhaps been a little zealous in my praise of Lawrence in the past, but in this film she really is great. Playing above her years, Lawrence plays a role far too old for her, yet she slips seamlessly into the role, playing a woman who is unstable and manipulative.

The film is fantastic fun, although not as funny as i expected it to be, this is perhaps an example of why you should not read other reviews before seeing a film, but all the reviews said that this film was hilarious, and although it does have occasional moments of hilarity, it falls short of being side splittingly funny. The film is however fantastic fun, featuring great music, lots of dancing, fantastic costumes and wigs that would make a drag queen jealous. For anyone that loves the BeeGees or who likes a perm, American Hustle is sure to delight.

The film also features a fantastic script, and the dialogue feels natural. It comes as no surprise to me that a majority of the film was improvised, and that character is often more important than plot or story. The film gives us detailed three dimensional characters that we are able to root for, despite their flaws or manipulative behaviour.

Overall, i enjoyed American Hustle, although not as much as i expected, David O. Russell's direction is sublime and the chemistry and characterization feel detailed. Despite being perhaps not as funny as it deserves to be, American Hustle is fun, oddly educational and exquisitely performed, a film that is masterfully crafted. Rating: B

Everybody hustles to survive