"American Hustle" (2013)

Everyday we tell ourselves and eachother lies, little white lies that help us get by day to day. Most of the time we're aware were conning ourselves and one another. But often enough, the lies become weirdly comforting to the point where we accept the lies as if they were truth. American Hustle is about con-men but it's even more largely about how people con one another in their relationships. Loosely based on the infamous late 1970's/early 1980's Abscam FBI investigation, the film tells the story of Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale, sporting an absurd comb-over -- merely one more self-deceiving con) and his mistress and partner in crime Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), who are brought up on criminal charges for fraud by FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper). Richie tells them that if they help the bureau catch a couple criminals, they'll be let off the hook, but the case quickly blows up out of proportion, encompassing the Camden mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner), mobsters, and members of congress. As the FBI cons frauds, and the cons con the FBI, and everyone cons everyone else on more personal and deluded levels, the conning becomes increasingly elaborate dupes towards everyone and themselves to the point where fact and fiction become hard to separate. The most interesting of these personal self-scams involves Irving's ditzy wife Rosalyn (a scene stealing Jennifer Lawrence), who is well aware of Irving's indiscretions, but also desperately, destructively desires his attention. American Hustle feels like a poor man's Goodfellas, borrowing heavily off the stylistic tendencies of that film but often failing to weigh them with the conviction or subtext to really make the whole affair feel like more than a flashy, fizzy trifle. American Hustle, though it does it snappily and humorously, underlines its themes a bit bluntly and this leads to a sense of the film believing it's more clever than it actually is, but perhaps that's the greatest con of all: it's a sugary film but all that sugar is empty calories. Still, all that sugar can still give you a nice high every now and again.

Grade: ★★★