American Hustle

This review may contain spoilers.

American Hustle is an artful display of era and con artistry at it's finest. I would give this film an 8/10.

This movie is an original gold mine of a film, it has a brilliantly clever plot that just analyses and puts a whole new twist into the crime/espionage genre. I also really enjoyed the cinematography of the film, it was attentive but also cast the film into a lustful analysis of how a person's body can manipulate a scenario or the way someone thinks. The music was also brilliant as far as era and attention to how the score affected the plot. The costuming I also thought was very clever and well presented.

Christian Bale, who played Irving Rosenfeld, really made the film for me and he had an intelligence and wit that I really appreciated. Bradley Cooper, who played Richie DiMaso, was a creep in the most intriguing and amusing way to watch unfold before you. Jennifer Lawrence, who played Rosalyn Rosenfeld, was messed up and wild and a role I never expected from Lawrence which was perhaps why it was so entertaining. Jeremy Renner, who played Mayor Carmine Polito, I fell in love with and was a genuine treasure in my eyes. I also really enjoyed Robert De Niro, who played Victor Tellegio, was a wonderful and unexpected single scene character I loved. But my guilty favourite was Louis C.K., who played Stoddart Thorsen, a quietly funny character who really grounded the film in tiny detail and make me want to see C.K. in more films.

The pacing for this film dragged a bit in places and there were definitely a few scenes I felt could have been added to a deleted scenes reel.

My major let down for this film was Amy Adams, who played Sydney Prosser, in what was the most flippant display of a character I've ever seen. The took a strong female lead who set out to screw those who had scorned her and then she went and got made into a love torn damsel, it was shoddy writing and acting.