Movie Review - American Hustle

American Hustle **** (R) Great story; terrific performances from many; two young actresses shining while stretching in roles unlike any they’ve done before; one of the year’s best movies. The nominations are already flowing, including many from our own St. Louis Film Critics Association.

Loosely based on the infamous 1978 ABSCAM scandal, we meet a couple of petty hustlers (Christian Bale, Amy Adams) who get nailed by the Feds (led by Bradley Cooper) for one of their cons. Cooper uses that leverage to coerce them into helping him trap some bigger prey with a scam under his control. But Cooper keeps getting more ambitious as the stakes increase, eventually targeting a major mobster (Robert DeNiro) and several members of Congress for bribery and other forms of corruption. Adams is Bale’s partner and soulmate, even though he’s actually married to the mother (Jennifer Lawrence) of his young son. She still has considerable emotional power over him, which she deftly, if annoyingly, deploys.

The result is a swirl of shifting sands of who is scamming whom on romance, lust, finances, etc. The action is considerably darker than films like The Sting or any of the Oceans flicks, but still delivers an enjoying challenge to follow. Bale looks and sounds like a sleazebag from that disco-fevered, polyester-swathed era. Adams, whose roles have traded heavily on her natural ingenue appeal, sizzles with every aspect of the smart and sexy character she’s portraying. As Bale’s histrionics-prone wife, Lawrence seems like a ditz, but shows surprisingly more dimensions in a superb supporting turn, including a couple of terrific scenes with Bale and Adams. Lawrence may derive more income and fame from her Hunger Games adventures. But to appreciate what a fine actress she is at such a young age, watch this film, and check out what she contributed to 2010's Winter’s Bone.

Director and co-writer David O. Russell again deftly mixes comedy and drama, as he’s done in films like Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees and Silver Linings Playbook. He’s also worked with most of the principal cast in other films, so those relationships are obviously paying rich dividends all around. Bale gained about as much weight to play this paunchy, combed-over low-life as Matthew McConaughey lost for his stellar AIDS-afflicted lead in The Dallas Buyers’ Club. The screenplay may not have much to do with the truth behind the headlines, but the film is definitely a winner. (12/18/13)