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“Did you ever have to find a way to survive and you knew your choices were bad, *but* you had to survive?” - Irving Rosenfeld, “American Hustle”

A quote from the protagonist of David O. Russell’s newest film, which states the through-line of the entire narrative, and the dilemma each of the characters who exist within the framework, must face. It is this simple quote which also serves to differentiate Russell’s film from a similarly-themed, but far more bombastic, “The Wolf Of Wall Street” by Martin Scorcese. It is with some irony that “Hustle”, which owes a debt to two of Scorcese’s prior films, “Goodfellas” and “Casino”, not in theme, but in terms of structure and presentation, is the better film.

The reason for this is the point of view through which these filmmakers have chosen to tell their stories. The controversial nature of “Wolf…” protagonist Jordan Belfort, makes him a difficult character for many audience members to sympathize with.

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In “Hustle”, Irving Rosenfeld and Sydney Prosser, Christian Bale and Amy Adams, respectively, are far more relatable. Though what they do is just as illegal and questionable as Belfort, they only target “marks” who can afford to lose some cash and they keep their operations and the goals low enough to stay under the radar (mostly) and just high enough to maintain a middle-class lifestyle. It helps, too, that they are obviously in love with each other and we are in love with the on-screen chemistry of such well-rounded characters played by two actors near the top of their respective games. A complication for Rosenfeld is the fact that he is married to the unstable and erratic Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) - who, as the film progresses becomes more and more of a potential liability. When Irving and Sydney are busted by upwardly-mobile FBI agent DiMaso (Bradley Cooper), they are coerced into setting up an increasingly powerful, diverse and dangerous group of politicians and mobsters in a sting operation based loosely on the ABSCAM events of the late 70s. The fact that Russell and original screenwriter, Eric Singer keep Rosenfeld and Prosser at the bottom of the food chain - with Rosenfeld in particular as the underdog, again serves to reinforce the everyman quality of his character. With a collective malaise still in the air in the aftermath of the recession, and a lack of punishment for those responsible, “Wolf” feels less like the indictment it should be. “Hustle” feels like a triumph of the common man caught up in a Goliath-like system. Mayor Polito (Jeremy Renner) is ultimately the true innocent in the picture and the one who experiences the most damage, but is not left as complete sacrifice by the actions of Rosenfeld and Prosser. The fact that Rosenfeld believes he has made a true friend in the charismatic mayor, even while implicating him in the sting, rings true and has a rather empathic payoff at the movie’s end.

The film is engaging, cleverly-plotted and well-paced and often laugh out loud funny (I will forever refer to the microwave as the “science oven”), even given the nature of its roots.

The acting, of course, is stellar across the board as has become par for the course with Russell’s films. Word has it much of the performances were improvised and worked out largely between the actors, independent of input from Russell or Singer. The technical aspects of the film easily matches the quality of the acting - the cinematography in particular is energetic with an almost continually moving camera. The editing is spot on, complimenting the energy of the camera and adding an urgency of its own, especially as tensions and events ratchet ever tighter as the film approaches its climax. Costume, production design, hair, makeup and music supervision also contribute effectively to recreate an era and mood not so long in the past.

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When watching a period piece, it’s a little weird to have been there. Oh yes. They nailed it. Clothes, interior decor, and soon to be famously, the music. That’s a good start.
The big pic is a clever con man story that has a couple great hooks, ABSCAM and Christian Bales performance. He is essentially unrecognizable if you know him from Batman and Reign of Fire. He put on a lot of pasta , totally pulled off the physically unattractive mid aged chubby white male. Excellent supporting roles all around and Amy Adams as Sydney Prosser bringing a vintage Jane Fonda air about her that works well. Jennifer Lawrence really brings it too. Even the color tone and lighting evoked the day. Hats off to cinematography and DP

1978. It was a fun place to grow up in and again visit.
New award? Christian Bale as Irving Rosenfeld with that comb over-Best Supporting Hairstyle.

One more thing-In a cross cultural moment ripe with genius we have White Rabbit done in Arabic at a key moment.

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Soundtrack at LGF Amazon

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