American Hustle (2013)

Right from the very first scene, David O. Russell’s American Hustle establishes itself as a film about deception. It doesn’t take much in the way of brainpower to figure that out, since there seems to be only one honest relationship in the entire thing. As the title suggests, this is an ensemble film featuring characters constantly attempting to play—or “hustle”—each other to varying degrees of success. This first scene is a brief glimpse into all the work that goes into this life of duplicity, as Christian Bale’s greasy con man artfully puts together his "elaborate" comb over for the day of work ahead. It’s a small detail, but it’s a vital one, and it sets up a universe in which no one can be wholly trusted. In American Hustle, there are always ulterior motives at play.

Bale’s character is Irving Rosenfeld, who spent years as a solo con man until he met Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams). The two immediately joined forces and became romantically involved, despite the fact that Irving is married to the unpredictable Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence), with whom he also has a child. Eventually their operation is busted, and FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) talks them into a deal: if Irving and Sydney are able to help in the arrests of several high-quality targets, then they will be forgiven for their past transgressions. Their main target becomes Camden, New Jersey mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner), an enthusiastic politician with ties to the mafia.

Russell directs all this in a kinetic style that quite blatantly recalls Martin Scorsese in Goodfellas/Casino mode, and all that really does is distract from what is otherwise a terrifically performed and entertaining crime story. There are montages scored by classic rock and Duke Ellington, multiple characters get a crack at providing voiceover narration, and the camera is relentless in its constant movement. There are undoubtedly worse filmmakers to borrow from than Scorsese, and these techniques are superficially effective, but they keep American Hustle from ever becoming its own movie. It stops short of being a great film and winds up being more effective as a tribute to other, better movies. It could have been a masterpiece if only it didn’t put so much effort into dressing up like one.

Despite these frustrations, Russell has many gifts as a director. As with his past efforts, he remains quite skilled at directing scenes of verbal conflict and overlapping dialogue, and he has a gift of getting great performances out of his actors. In fact, he may be responsible for the two best performances of Bradley Cooper’s career. Silver Linings Playbook was a fine showcase that showed just how skilled Cooper could be when he wasn’t playing that godawful Hangover character, and American Hustle allows him to flex an entirely different muscle. His Agent DiMaso is an overly ambitious, cocaine-fueled obsessive so blinded by the opportunity in front of him that he’s unable to see how he’s getting played just like everybody else.

That obliviousness is part of what makes every conversation in Russell's film so entertaining. In almost every case, each character is trying to get something out of the other, and it’s fascinating to watch entire scenes go by where much dialogue is spoken but almost none of it is the truth. There are exceptions, specifically in the scenes between Bale and the two women in his life, but when it comes time to turn on the “hustle” switch, this is an ensemble that is full of pros. It may not add up to anything all that impressive as a whole, but from a moment-to-moment standpoint, most films can only dream of being as absorbing as American Hustle.

Grade: B+