American Hustle

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It was a little over a year ago when writer-director David O. Russell released Silver Linings Playbook. I gave it a 4/5, mainly for the performances of Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper. Looking back, I probably should've scored it with a 3.5/5, especially since I'd give Russell's newest movie, American Hustle, a 4/5 as well. American Hustle matches Russell's previous work in the field of acting but is an improvement in pacing, comedy and drama.

Christian Bale stars as conman Irving Rosenfeld, who partners up with Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) to start up a new operation. Irving has Sydney bring him her rich friends, where he offers to invest their money. The two embezzle the cash and pocket the profit. As their funds increase, so does their mutual attraction, which complicates the already tumultuous marriage between Irving and his carelessly unstable wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence). 

After initial success, Irving and Sydney are busted by FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper). DiMaso makes a deal with the two to release them if they help him catch four other con artists. Irving accepts, and he, Sydney, and Richie work to bring down the mayor of Camden, NJ for taking a bribe. As Irving takes Rosalyn on dinner dates with Mayor Polito (Jeremy Renner) and his wife, Irving forms a legitimate friendship with Polito and starts to feel remorseful about his role in the takedown of a person who he sees as a great man. Meanwhile, Sydney, still under the guise of her alias as the British Edith Greensley, is welcoming the advances of Richie following a spat with Irving. 

The movie has a lot of key ingredients for a Grade-A movie: an all-star cast, brilliant performances, great comic relief, twists and surprises, commendable cinematography, and set pieces, costumes and hairstyling that places you in the timeframe of the story. But American Hustle is missing something - focus. The movie focuses more on the characters and sometimes forgets to touch base with the audience about what those characters are up to and what their true intentions are. 

Still, despite the imperfections in the screenplay, the cast carries the movie well enough on their own. Christian Bale provides an enjoyable comedic presence as Irving. It's not a career-best, but it's still praiseworthy. Amy Adams is simply fantastic in her best performance since The Fighter, and I sincerely hope she gets her 5th Oscar nomination for her efforts. And as expected, Jennifer Lawrence steals every scene she's in, and her performance in American Hustle proves that she undoubtedly is one of the best actresses of this generation. 

You should expect to see the cast on stage at the SAG Awards in a few weeks, as it'll be a shock if they don't take home the prize for Best Acting Ensemble. But when it comes to Best Picture or Best Screenplay at the Oscars, I think David O. Russell might walk away empty handed for the second year in a row. He makes movies that I deeply want to love, although he always lets me down just a bit. He's a good filmmaker, and I know he can be great. David O. Russell isn't quite there just yet, but i have faith that one day he will be.

Rating: 4/5