Leading in the list of Oscar nominations, American Hustle has a rather sluggish first-half and an exciting pacey second-half. The post-interval part is like a hefty perk that you get after waiting for a long while, just like an employee who is suddenly all gleeful after receiving an unexpected bonus.
Leading in the list of Oscar nominations, American Hustle has a rather sluggish first-half and an exciting pacey second-half. The post-interval part is like a hefty perk that you get after waiting for a long while, just like an employee who is suddenly all gleeful after receiving an unexpected bonus. Of course the movie deserves all this raving, but if you ask me if the film lives up to all that hype and hoopla surrounding it just before the Oscars, I’ll respond with a blatant NO. David O Russell has made better movies than American Hustle. While The Fighter kept me hooked, making me want to understand the complex brotherly love between Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, Silver Linings Playbook was a sweet and an eccentric film; unpredictable, just like Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence’s bizarre behavior in the movie.
After all is said and done, the ‘70s set up in American Hustle wouldn’t look even half as cool without the ace actors in the film. Only Christian Bale (Irving) can stick his ugly fat belly out and still carry himself with an air of confidence. Covering his bald patch with the comb over hairstyle, Bale is quite a hustler. Along with his many businesses, from dry cleaning to dealing with fake art, he also cracks fake loan deals. And there’s this one scene in the movie when Bale confesses to Amy Adams (Sydney Prosser), who he’s starting to fall in love with, about the hoaxes he pulls off for a living. The scene is beautiful; the babe scurries out of the room in rage, leaving Bale with a sense of painful guilt. Sitting all distraught, wondering why he ever slipped down to the route to honesty, he looks up and finds Amy right in front of him again. Sensually introducing herself as Lady Edith Greensly, a chick with royal connections; her imaginary impersonation was a hint for Bale to accept her as his partner in crime from now on. Thereon the two hustlers start raking in the moolah.
If Amy is all sorted in the head, using her sexiness as her ultimate tool, by wearing those lovely deep plunging neckline dresses, Jennifer (Rosalyn) who plays Bale’s wife, is totally the opposite. What’s endearing about her character is that despite being dumb and mentally unstable, she thinks she’s the smartest chick around. Her eccentricities are to watch out for. Ask her not to put metal in the microwave and she does just that. She calls Bale a stupid son of a bi@#$ in front of her son, and asks him not to repeat it and shut his ears. Yes, she is one hell of a mad, crazy woman who’s interesting every second of her life, but doesn’t have anyone around her to handle and tolerate her interesting antics. Well, no one wants to. The bouncy, messy updo is her signature style. In one of the scenes, she bumps into Amy at a soiree, and while she gives her the angry look throughout since Adams is her husband’s mistress, she is also seen kissing her the washroom while having an emotional outburst. As I said, that’s Jenny for you, unpredictable to the core and her character is beautifully etched out, complex just like her mood-swings.
Bradley Cooper plays a cop in the movie. His over enthusiasm and undying passion for his job just gives you the giggles. Adding to all that madness, he also has a quirky habit of curling his hair. He painstakingly uses rollers everyday to create his desired coiffure. His hippity-hoppity nature backfires and how, you have to watch the last scene to understand what I am talking about; his face is like a blooming flower that suddenly shrivels and crinkles.
A con drama that has the perfect ingredients for a good watch, but not sure if I will call it a great watch. And I am still wondering what’s that ear-numbing buzz all about, around the movie of course…
