American Hustle is an exciting film based on an FBI sting operation which took place during the 1970’s. The film, directed by David O. Russell (The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook), stars an ensemble cast including Christian Bale, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, and comedy legend Louis CK.
The film follows small time con-artist Irving Rosenfeld (Bale), who runs his operation with former stripper Sydney Prosser (Adams). The two are also lovers, carrying on affair unbeknownst to Irving’s unstable, alcoholic wife Rosalyn (Lawrence). Everything seems to be going fine until FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Cooper) catches the duo. He offers them an opportunity to avoid prison if they help entrap four big-time criminals. The ensuing sting operations gain action and suspense with every minute, as Irving, Sydney, and Richie all try to manipulate and lie themselves into positions of power at the others’ expense.
The plot of the film is intricately constructed and may be difficult to follow if you’re not in the right mindset. As the film progresses, the trio of Irving, Sydney, and Richie try to set up a sting on everyone from New Jersey’s mayor to the head mafia boss in the northeast (a small yet menacing appearance by Robert DeNiro). Along the way, Irving and Sydney’s love for each other is tested: Richie tries to turn them against each other by offering each a deal to rat the other out, Rosalyn discovers Irving’s infidelity, and as the profile of each target rises, Irving and Rosalyn start to wonder if they’ll make it out of this final heist alive if not free.
Adding to the confusion are the ambiguous motivations and allegiances of each character—the high stakes and low margin for error test each character’s loyalties, the dramatic tension invigorated by the ensemble cast’s emotionally charged performances. Every character, from Irving to Richie introduce themselves and narrate most of their actions, explaining their motivations. Their on-screen dialogue, however, reveals a lot of their narration is not entirely true—not only are they hustling each other, they’re also hustling the audience into rooting for them.
This final element separates American Hustle from other crime films I’ve seen. Few crime films attempt to tell a heist story from each character’s perspective. Doing so is difficult because it is a balancing act—each character must have an opportunity to explain their perspective. The writing rises to this challenge: each character defined clearly at first, their internal struggles and changes of heart develop along the way, and at key points in the film, they reveal ulterior motives which turn the film’s plot on its head.
Strong acting complements this strong acting. As hustling is the underlying idea of the movie, each actor portrays a less than honest individual trying to appear more than dishonest. This is very challenging, as each actor essentially tries to portray their character as a careful mixture of likeable and dislikable at the same time. Russell offers each character an opportunity to showcase their talent with clever framing techniques, setting each star center stage for their hustler’s lines—the screen becomes a stage for their pitch. An excellent movie for fans of crime drama and stories with many plot twists.
