American Hustle

"Did you ever have to find a way to survive and you knew your choices were bad, *but* you had to survive?"

In 1978, Irving Rosenfeld (Bale) and his partner / mistress Sydney Prosser (Adams) are running successful cons against bad people.  Their success is noted by FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Cooper), who catches them in a scam.  He agrees to release them and drop the charges if they help him make several arrests.

They devise a scheme involving a fake Sheikh from Iran.  However the plan attracts the attention of Camden, New Jersey mayor Carmine Polito (Renner).  Richie convinces his superiors, Anthony Amado (Alessandro Nivola), to change the plan to take down corrupt politicians, despite the concerns of his boss Stoddard Thorsen (C.K.).  As the plan grows more elaborate, Irving loses control of the situation and worries that they will fail and endanger everyone he cares for.  Meanwhile, his unpredictable wife, Rosalyn (Lawrence) begins dating a mobster who has connections to Carmine.  Can the scam succeed or are all in too deep?


The film opens with the words "Some of this actually happened," which sets up the film perfectly.  You need to pay close attention to the film to figure out who is playing who and what is actually happening at any given moment.  Director David O. Russell keeps you guessing throughout the film and manipulates every scene so that you can't predict what will happen next.

To bring his vision to life, Russell cast stars that appeared in his last 2 films: Amy Adams and Christian Bale from The Fighter and Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence from Silver Linings Playbook.  Each are well-known and lauded actors, but they dive into these unique characters and show different sides to their acting abilities.  Bale is known for dramatic physical transformations to portray characters, and this is no exception.  He gained 40 pounds for the role and sports a hideous comb-over.  Adams vamps in a dramatic wardrobe and displays a solid British accent.  Cooper sports a tight perm (and even wears curlers in one scene) and goes a little crazy.  Lawrence is mesmerizing as the manipulating, passive-aggressive Rosalyn.  She dominates every scene that she's in.  They are all nominated for acting Oscars this year, dominating the acting categories and will probably win at least one.

An interesting film that keeps you guessing and throws in a few laughs amid the confusion.

American Hustle (2013) 138 minutes
Rating: R for pervasive language, some sexual content and brief violence
Director: David O. Russell
Starring: Christian Bale as Irving Rosenfeld
Bradley Cooper as Richie DiMaso
Amy Adams as Sydney Prosser
Jeremy Renner as Carmine Polito
Jennifer Lawrence as Rosalyn Rosenfeld
Louis C.K. as Stoddard Thorsen
Jack Huston as Pete Musane