In a season ripe with festivities, snow and newly released films, “American Hustle” stands out at the top. The newly released film has already been nominated for seven Golden Globes and received a nod from the Screen Actors Guild as well as the Oscars, including a nomination for best picture. The film follows five flawed people as their greed, rage and selfishness force them to make difficult decisions to save their lives.
“American Hustle” has five phenomenal and well-known actresses and actors filling the main roles: Christian Bale (“The Dark Knight”), Bradley Cooper (“The Hangover”), Amy Adams (“Man of Steel”), Jeremy Renner (“The Hurt Locker”) and Jennifer Lawrence (“Silver Linings Playbook”). Bale and Adams are Irving Rosenfeld and Sydney Prosser, a duo that cons a variety of people but accidentally get caught by Cooper’s Richie DiMaso, an FBI agent.
DiMaso forces Rosenfeld and Prosser to complete several more cons in an attempt to catch high-level government officials taking bribes. Renner plays Carmine Polito, Mayor of Camden, NJ, who is drawn into the con in an attempt to better his city. Lastly, Lawrence is Rosalyn Rosenfeld, wife of Mr. Rosenfeld, who threatens to topple the tenuous relationship between the FBI and the con artists.
The plot is extremely complex and captivating, consistently keeping the audience on the edge of their seats. “American Hustle” actually tells a moderately true story of the Abscam sting of 1978 through 1980. Obviously, the movie embellishes the characters of the real life story, but the truth remains that six members of the U.S. House of Representatives, one U.S. senator and the mayor of Camden were all penalized as a part of the hustle. The director, David O. Russell, probably chose to make these changes because he wished to present a different message, questioning the ethicality of using con artists to con varying members of the government- who might not have committed crimes if not presented with the possibility.
Despite how interesting the film ended up being, the first act of the movie could have been better developed. “American Hustle” opens halfway through the Abscam story, eventually going back to the beginning to explain how each member got involved. The first minutes are convoluted and confusing, yet around a half hour into the film, the actors find their stride and the plot catches up to the viewers. The confusing beginning of the film could easily be explained as an effort to entice the audience or an attempt to make the viewers feel as disjointed as some of the characters do later in the film.
The most striking part of the film is definitely the acting. Each character is well thought out and developed, then brought to life by a phenomenal group of actors. It can be assured that at least some of them will receive Oscar nods. Adams’ presentation of Prosser is the most striking. As part of the various cons, Prosser adopts an English accent and calls herself by a different name- the only time she reverts back to the accent she was born with is around Mr. Rosenfeld. One of her best scenes is when the two frantically try to figure out how they could get out of the trouble they have brought upon themselves. Adams hysterically switches between her accents, presenting true desperation and confusion, unsure about which of her personas she has actually become.
“American Hustle” is a must-see this holiday season. Though it does not provide warm fuzzy feelings about family or present a positive representation of humanity, every second leaves viewers on the edge of their seats and the characters have so much depth that almost everyone can empathize with their situation.
