The opening scene of 'American Hustle' depicts Irving
Rosenfeld - Christian Bale in another of his radical physical transformations,
this time with a spectacular paunch - applying the finishing touches to the
comb-over that barely covers his receding hair, which is aptly described later
on by Amy Adam's Sydney Prosser as 'elaborate'.
You could go so far to say that Bale's character's hairstyle is an accurate metaphor for the entire film: elaborate, in a way consistent with the
wild '70's fashion prevalent throughout it, but ultimately it's a bit patchy.
The film's plot sees Bale's Rosenfeld, a moderately successful
businessman and - more importantly - con artist - initially trying to balance
his girlfriend/partner-in-crime Prosser, with his young wife (played by
Jennifer Lawrence) and son. When they succumb
to an FBI sting, led by Bradley Cooper's Riche DiMaso, Rosenfeld and Prosser
are forced to take part in FBI plans to use scams to catch high profile criminals. This leads to the Abscam plot (which actually
happened, folks), in which DiMaso's ambition spirals in to attempts to take
down corrupt politicians and senators, and even the mob - against the wishes
and advice of Rosenfeld. The problem is,
this is mostly played out in a manner which is by and large predictable -
although there are a couple of moments which suggest the likelihood of
Rosenfeld getting in to deeper and deeper trouble with dangerous mob types, the
story rarely ventures in to the potential of the tense thriller and morality
tale it might have become in another director's hands.
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| I wonder if they find it difficult being really, ridiculously good looking? |
Instead, David O. Russell keeps it light, and on the side
of a quirky comedy. Certainly, the
hairstyles of his two male leads have been played for laughs. If the story ultimately feels in danger of
being inconsequential, the acting raises the whole endeavour. Russell has assembled an outstanding and
really, ridiculously good-looking cast (even under 70's hairstyles!) - in fact
there's an argument that this film veers in to becoming 'talented, young, Oscar-bait
Actor' porn - we've all seen superb performances from Bale, Adams, Cooper,
Lawrence and Jeremy Renner in other films, putting them altogether would almost
be a wet-dream for the Academy 'Best Acting' board. And that's before you get on to the fact
that, yes, the leads are all extremely easy on the eye, and Russell exploits
that entirely - giving Adams and Cooper a sizzling dance scene at a disco,
where Cooper manages to create the right sort of chemistry with Amy Adams, as
he did with Lawrence in 'Silver Linings Playbook'. Seriously, stop it now Bradley, you're making
the rest of us non-dancing blokes look bad!
Even Bale, despite his comb-over and paunch, exudes a wry, knowing
confidence and odd-sort of charm, which makes it possible to see how a guy like him
could get beautiful young women like Lawrence and Adams; and most importantly
makes him a sympathetic character, despite the fact he is essentially a
criminal.
Aside from this, the supporting cast is solid, and the
'70's era detailing is, well, spectacular - but ultimately it's all there to
serve the performances of the five lead actors.
The draw here is primarily seeing this great cast looking good, giving
solid performances, but beyond that, there most likely isn't enough here story-wise
or in plot development for audiences to really take hold of. Beyond the great leads, there is a certain
superficiality to this film - given the emphasis on capturing '70's fashion so
well in this film, perhaps that's entirely intentional..?
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| 'Don't put metal in the science oven!' |
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