Or... why Amy Adams deserves her Oscar nomination!!
With the local multiplex seeking to differentiate itself from armchair viewing by becoming a fast-food restaurant and den for handheld-device users that just so happens to show movies, I only visit the cinema when something seemingly special comes along. So off the back of its Golden Globe recognition and the presence of Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence, I decided to try ‘American Hustle’.
What an interesting film. It has brash clothes, big hair and plot twists aplenty. The two female leads are magnificent, and are fast becoming two of my favourite actors (yes, I deliberately include the men here). Indeed, this is Amy Adams’ movie. Her character Sydney is supposed to cast a spell over every male she meets, and this is beautifully delivered as she steals almost every scene in which she appears. As a father with primary school-aged children, my introduction to Adams was as Giselle in ‘Enchanted’. How she has buried and trodden all over the grave of that character. The polar opposites of Giselle and Sydney indicate her incredible range. Sydney is the antithesis of the transparent, innocent and naive Giselle. We see much, much more of Adams in this film than 'Enchanted' - and I mean in EVERY way possible. The only scenes where Adams does not dominate are those with Jennifer Lawrence who matches her stride for stride. The restroom sequence exemplifies this. Following her ‘Hunger Games’ Katniss Everdeen, Lawrence again proves compelling viewing.
At times I wondered if I had quite gripped the story’s heart because it was never clear who was conning whom. Every major character was deceiving someone – even Richie was keeping his home and personal life secret from a world he would rather inhabit. I was constantly aware that what the surface revealed was probably not what was really going on. The leitmotific use of ‘saying no several times so you draw the mark in’ seemed to provide the plot structure and help signal to the audience when all was not what it appeared. But even then, there was subterfuge built on subterfuge, with multiple cons playing out on different characters in the same scene. I suggest that this may be why some critics are concerned that there is superficial style but no substance – the substance is not always immediately apparent, with the real action and mind games being played out beneath the surface.
Christian Bale should be lauded for the understated way in which he plays Irving. He allows the two women to steal the show, whilst quietly progressing the action and presenting his character’s nervousness at being pushed to play out of his depth. Again, this is a polar opposite to his front and centre action-based roles such as Batman.
As a result of this movie, I shall certainly be catching up on David O Russell’s ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ and ‘The Fighter’.