American Hustle

A very well acted, directed, filmed movie telling an interesting story about terrible terrible people. I didn't like and couldn't root for anyone which /almost/ made me hate the film, but it was so well done and the story was interesting...so 4 stars.

Christian Bale has always been prepared to go the extra mile for his art, but I am not sure it was worth it for this rather lengthy and messy crime caper. He portrays con-man "Irving" who works a series of scams with his glamorous British partner "Sydney" (Amy Adams). They are quite successful, until - that is - they fall foul of aspiring FBI investigator "DiMaso" (Bradley Cooper) who decides he can use their skills to infiltrate the murky world the Mafia. Add to this potentially toxic scenario the politically savvy and aptly named "Polito" (Jeremy Renner) and the omni-presence of "Rosalyn" (Jennifer Lawrence) who just happens to be the wife of "Irving" and who is none too pleased about her husband's antics with his new colleague. What ensues here now is a clunkily thrown together series of escapades that all hang on certain aspects of the story and characterisations that just don't really work. The attempts at humour miss much more than they hit; the faux-gangster plot falls flat and lacks grit or plausibility and Adams' British accent (and therefore her identity) is all over the place - I doubt it would convince even Dick van Dyke let along the FBI! The attempts at building an intricate domino-style plot where it could all come a-tumbling down at any time are too contrived, and that jeopardy presents it's self once too often and with ever diminishing effect as the story rather lurches along to it's almost slap-stick denouement. Though it features an A-list cast, there is not much chemistry on display for us here and the whole thing just takes far, far, too long to get up any head of steam. It does look good, and the soundtrack offers an enjoyably eclectic mix of songs, but I just wasn't sold on the very wordy suckering and scheming, sorry.