AMERICAN HUSTLE - Review

American Hustle

Drama/Comedy, 2013
2 hours, 9 minutes
Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
Directed by David O. Russell
Rated R for "pervasive language, some sexual content and brief violence"

Starring
Christian Bale
Amy Adams
Bradley Cooper
Jeremy Renner
Jennifer Lawrence
Louis CK
Jack Huston
Michael Peña
Robert DeNiro

"We were so successful for so long because we kept it just small enough."

I love David O. Russell. He doesn't go for spectacle or anything explosive. He just makes good, straight-shooting movies. He makes great romance movies. He made a great boxing movie. I've never seen anything bad from him, even his earlier work is pretty solid. Russell really knows how to work with actors, and he's great at choosing actors with natural talent.

This time around for American Hustle, he took the best parts of his last 2 movies, Silver Lining's Playbook and The Fighter, these parts being actors from these films. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence from Silver Linings Playbook, and Amy Adams and Christian Bale from The Fighter. The performances in this movie are all around stellar. STELLAR. Each and every character is so vibrant and distinct and watching them all interact with each other is great. Everyone has fantastic chemistry, impressive for something with a good-sized cast of very talented A-listers. It also has Louis CK as an FBI director, who pretty much just acts like Louis CK. But that's ok, because it's fuckin' Louis CK.
The movie is definitely a lot funnier than you'd expect. I don't think I would exactly call it a comedy, but it does have a few fantastic moments of subtle hilarity. Even Christian Bale's hair is fucking hysterical.

Strangely enough, the story is the weakest link. It's not that it's even a bad story. It just moves at such an incredibly breakneck ADHD speed that you might get lost at a couple of key points in the film. It's a little complex and could be clearer, but it's still good for the most part. The overall plot is easy to track, but the subtleties are easy to overlook.

Russell definitely has another hit with American Hustle. For its missteps in it's plot, it's characters and performances more than make up for what will most likely be called one of the best movies of the year.

9.3/10