“Politics, in a sense, has always been a con game.”
-- Joe McGinniss
-- Joe McGinniss
Bale as Rosenfeld American Hustle definitely has something to say about politics and law enforcement. It just can't stop admiring itself in the mirror long enough to say it. Ultimately though, this vanity is overshadowed by each of the stars at or near the top of their game. Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence both kill their parts as women with different means to the same end, although Lawrence admittedly has a smaller part than her stature would suggest. Even the normally wooden Jeremy Renner breathes life into his role. Only Bradley Cooper seems like he just doesn't have enough to do with his part to really throw himself into it, but he still does an admirable job at least keeping up with his costars. As good as they all are though, they pale in comparison to Christian Bale. Even if this movie was originally envisioned as an ensemble, Bale's performance as con man Irving Rosenfeld would've forced the movie to focus more on him.
Adams as Prosser Another example of Bale's willingness to change his physique to fit a role (Batman being the obvious muscular end of the spectrum with The Machinist providing the frightening opposite end), his weight gain and shaved simulation of baldness are at odds with the Hollywood bodies he spends the movie surrounded by. The movie opens with the complex ritual required for his character to fool absolutely nobody into believing he has a full head of hair, but that sort of confidence, that he can fool anyone into anything, while at the same time being strangely insecure, sums up his entire character. Given the movie's focus on him, it's strange that his best one-liner from the teaser ("You ever take a quarter from a phone booth? You stole! I just got bigger balls than you.") didn't make it into the finished product, but I guess such a blunt statement of his arrogance seemed redundant. At the party of a mutual friend, Bale's sleazy con man is introduced to Amy Adams' Sydney Prosser, a woman who comes from little and has risked it to come to the big city and try to get much, much more. Indicative of the film's refusal to cut corners, her backstory as a stripper is illustrated in a flashback complete with Amy Adams on a pole, telling us how there's a certain excitement and power in it. No, exposition or allusions simply won't do for Hustle.
Cooper as DiMaso That sort of extravagance gives the movie a sort of charm, but also leads to a few story branches that probably should've been pruned. Full of small points that will never be expanded on or impact the story (wait, did DiMaso just do coke?!) its bloated running time becomes a detraction when it could have easily been trimmed (and given more space for awesome Bale one-liners!) without losing any of the story. And once we're introduced to Cooper's Richie DiMaso and Renner's Carmine Polito, we're too focused on the storytelling for much else besides the movie's slightly too frequent predilection for pointing out how stylish it is. DiMaso is an FBI agent focused on white collar crime and political corruption, but a little too recklessly for his own good. Polito, the mayor of Atlantic City, is his initial target and through a sting on Rosenfeld and Prosser, DiMaso enlists their help in trapping Renner's politician. Lawrence occasionally pops in to steal scenes as Rosenfeld's wife, Rosalyn, whom Irving describes as a better con artist than even himself, but the family life (Irving has adopted Rosalyn's son as his own) never really seems to fit Irving, and I would be interested to see how the two of them wound up married.
Lawrence as Rosenfeld Where Wolf of Wall Street seemed winding but never lost your attention during it's massive runtime, Hustle's outcome is almost pre-ordained and perhaps that's why it seems to drag in places. The comparisons are inevitable: two recent-sort-of-history dramas released on the same day; one by Hollywood's "old guard" (Scorsese definitely qualifies; Leonardo DiCaprio just has that air about him) vs. one by the "new guard" (Director David O. Russell bringing his muses from Silver Linings Playbook, Cooper and Lawrence, along for the ride here in a very Scorsese-like move). However, where they both featured despicable anti-heroes in the leads, Wolf seemed to break a few more rules than Hustle. At its core, Hustle is asking us to root for and cheer the inevitable happy ending for a man who got on the FBI's radar by taking $5,000 as an "origination fee" on loans he never meant to procure for the most desperate of people. Where we watched Jordan Belfort with interest in Wolf but knew almost from the opening scene that his debauchery couldn't last, we're meant to watch Rosenfeld with compassion and a rooting interest here, and the backstory just doesn't fit.
Renner as Polito It's these sorts of details that put me in the minority of believing that Wolf is the superior movie. Not that it isn't a close race! Purely in terms of cinematography, Hustle probably wins. The sets, the grandeur, and the overall imagery of the film is fantastic. Including a delightful cameo from a huge name (I won't spoil it here), everyone, including Louis C.K., delivers fantastic performances. DiCaprio turning in a stellar turn is almost a foregone conclusion at this point, so David O. Russell getting this level of acting out of his players probably gives him the inside track on Best Director over Scorsese as well. It's the little things that add up to take Hustle down a notch: the story inconsistencies, the sections that drag along a little, and the music-overlaid portions where the film stands back and takes stock of how impressive it is. I don't mean to make the review sound too negative, however, as all of this is really picking at the tiniest of nits. The most resounding scenes in the entire movie both involve no dialogue. In one of Rosenfeld's dry cleaners, Irving and Sydney share a moment surrounded by clothes rotating on the rack. On his proverbial way down, Irving stands alone in the same place recalling that moment. Perhaps if the movie had shown the sort of restraint displayed in these memorable scenes a little more often, it could have transcended to truly great status.
A promising story that takes a few misguided detours, but is ultimately elevated by superb performances.
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