Hair and Consequences: American Hustle

I braved to polar winds last night to squeeze in a little Oscar homework and checked out American Hustle. Director David O. Russell has been on quite a roll, with Hustle coming fast on the heels of previous Oscar darlings The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook. I still think Three Kings is my favorite Russell picture to date. American Hustle is the “Some of this actually happened” tale of New Jersey con man Irving Rosenfeld, forced to work for a wild-card FBI agent in the 1970s, in the sting operation that became known as Abscam.

Hustle drinks deep of Seventies detail and atmosphere. The costume design on display here is a dizzying fiasco of scarves and boob-revealing blouses, which Amy Adams gamely deals with in practically every scene. The period vibe is strong and authentic, but it must be acknowledged that Russell tips his hat rather overtly to Martin Scorsese, particularly Goodfellas here. Silver Linings co-star Robert De Niro even contributes a memorable turn as a Miami Mafioso. The cast is terrific and revels in the sleazy convictions of these characters, but this creates a real problem, as it’s really hard to get behind the protagonists, played by Adams and Christian Bale, who sports the mother of all comb-overs. Bale is always incredibly real and dedicated and nails the Bronx accent here, though he’s working with so much regalia, I was reminded of Sean Penn back in The Falcon and the Snowman. Bradley Cooper is naively energetic as the FBI agent with a dream, but hair takes such a strong supporting role in American Hustle, it borders on distraction.

The supporting work by Jennifer Lawrence and Jeremy Renner is what carries the film – they are both spectacular. This may be my favorite performance yet from Lawrence – with a manic house-cleaning scene that has to be seen to be believed. Likewise, this is one of Renner’s best roles. He has insanely outrageous hair, to the point that it ought to be a colossal liability – but it’s never a distraction. He’s so completely in the moment and engaging, I found myself wishing the movie would take a left turn and stick with his and Lawrence’s characters. They’re really both excellent here.

There is a lot to like in American Hustle, but it has a slightly recycled feel to it. As much as I love the opening credits and 70s studio logos, there’s a deliberateness to things that pulled me out of the story at times. Hustle isn’t the most pleasant story, despite the many laughs that occur throughout. It’s easily 20 minutes too long, and it feels that way. Bale’s Rosenfeld is such a shlub, it’s just about impossible to root for him or have any real sympathy. What the heck does Amy Adams see in this guy? I found myself longing for something like the heights of Boogie Nights, but we never quite got there. There are also some really confusing choices made, where for a few minutes it felt like we were about to have a large reveal of a greater con game that had been pulled on the audience, but it never manifested and may have just been confusing editing. That didn’t help.

I’m glad I saw American Hustle – I love that era on film and it's chock-a-block with the excesses of the times and a desperation that’s morbidly fascinating. But it’s hard to get past the lack of desire to see anyone come away unscathed.