American Hustle - Danny's review

I got a book about Seagalogy for Christmas. In the last week I've watched ten Steven Seagal films, along with some of his excellent Lawman series. Although it's difficult to watch a film that has no chance of featuring Steven Seagal, I thought I should give it a go. I've been looking forward to American Hustle, as it looked like a guaranteed good time, and it certainly was. There's loads of larger than life characters, catchy music, and the thrill of the con.

There's some amazing 70s styling. The best bit is when it pans across a couple of impressive three piece suits, then cuts to the Mayor Jeremy Renner and his associate, looking fantastic. Probably didn't need the obligatory 70s disco scene, but the rest of it is all very welcome.

Like any good con-artist story, it's not always clear who's conning who. Not just in terms of monetary scams, but in their relationships. I was accidentally conned too, and didn't realise that Amy Adams' character was only pretending to be English as she adopted her English accent so early on. She has a saucy relationship with both the male leads, played by Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper, and talks a lot of talk about being real. It's hard not to stare at her breasts.

Christian Bale is excellent, playing a strangely resigned and downbeat middle-aged man. He must have eaten loads to get that paunch. He's a bit washed up like he is in The Fighter, but don't worry he's still got it, and as time goes on you trust him a lot more than the unhinged Bradley Cooper. Bradley's mad streak comes out, like it does in Silver Linings Playbook, which also starred Jennifer Lawrence. She plays the wacky first wife, who is a sort of comic relief but is actually pretty good, and in the end you feel sorry for her too she's so messed up.

The 'big con' that they pull off at the end is a bit disappointing, as it's built up too much. In fact, there's a few references to what a great trickster Christian Bale is, but we don't see much evidence of it. Maybe they wanted to keep it as an ensemble piece, focusing on the characters, rather than turn it into a crime caper, which it nearly is. The worst bits are the dodgy mafia involvement, with a token Robert De Niro mobster.

There's one interesting plot point. Amy Adams seems to be flirting with Bradley Cooper even before he is revealed as an agent (spoiler alert). Is it because she really fancied him, or was she on to him and already playing a very clever long game?

In summary, it's a lot of fun, and I'd certainly watch it again if it was on TV, mostly for Christian Bale. It's not my favourite 'American' movie, that would be American Psycho, followed by American Beauty, then American History X. But it's much better than American Pie.