Just as
early May signals the beginning of high-profile blockbuster releases, early
December is characterized by a market saturation of critical darlings and
Oscar-bait features, and one of the most attention-grabbing offerings this year
was American Hustle. With past award-winning offerings like The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook, expectations were through the roof for
director David O. Russell’s newest project, especially since it would reunite
his most talented collaborators.
Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Jeremey
Renner have each either received Oscars or garnered high-profile nominations,
so you would be hard-pressed to find another example of an ensemble cast that
was guaranteed to be brilliant. Each of
these A-listers has dominated across numerous genres, but the fact that each is
now associated with a superhero film franchise drew unexpected attention across
social media, thereby driving awareness far beyond the traditional demographics. Positioned as an irreverent black comedy and
having received near-universal critical acclaim early-on, American Hustle was primed to stand out against the considerable competition
of the Holiday Box Office.
Though the
film takes some time to build-up true momentum and the script is oftentimes
confusing, American Hustle delivers
in the expected areas of individual performance and cast chemistry to further
reinforce the reputation of David O. Russell.
Christian Bale disappears into his character both physically and emotionally,
Amy Adams is mesmerizing and sexy, and both Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Renner
are wonderfully sleazy…however, one cast member especially stands out. It should come as no surprise that Jennifer
Lawrence is once again brilliant and utterly hysterical, delivering the
funniest moments and fully personifying the zany energy of the film. And yet, once you strip away the performances,
the script and pacing remain too erratic and confusing to classify the star-studded
caper as flawless. Regardless, the main
draw of American Hustle has always
been character-focused acting, and in that area the film is well-deserving of
considerable attention come Awards Season.
Overall
Recommendation: High
