American Hustle

American Hustle
R
Running time: 2 hours 9 minutes
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Director: David O. Russell
Cast: Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner.

Synopsis: American Hustle tells the story of brilliant con man Irving Rosenfeld, who along with his equally cunning and seductive British partner Sydney Prosser is forced to work for a wild FBI agent Richie DiMaso. DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia that's as dangerous as it is enchanting. Thrown in the mix are Carmine Polito, the passionate, volatile, New Jersey political operator caught between the con-artists and Feds, and Irving's unpredictable wife Rosalyn, who could be the one to pull the thread that brings the entire world crashing down.

Review: With an excellent line-up of A-listers, 'American Hustle' is a rare caper that boasts impressive on-screen performances paired with a meticulously written story of deception and human relationships. From Bale's awkward comb-overs to Lawrence's revealing cleavage, the setting is a beautiful throwback to the discotheque era of 1970's. The premise of the storyline is simple enough - setting up a diversity of characters of different background and identity, then throw them into a highly dramatised situation revolving around an Abscam sting operation. The result is a complicated entangling web of intrigue, love, deceit and human nature that are so flawlessly weaved without any obvious convolution and apparent plot-holes. Director David O. Russell managed to assign each of the ensemble cast a balanced amount of screen-time respectively, thus allowing every character to be held justifiable for his or her action. The interaction between the characters is humorously intense yet emotionally thoughtful (See Bale's shady overweight con-man and Adam's British-accented partner in crime). Cooper's hotheaded (or curly-headed..) FBI agent delivered such precisely timed comic performance, not to mention Jennifer Lawrence's Rosalyn. Funny, entertaining and a smart piece of cinematic hallmark.

Rating: Full 5 Stars