Total Film | American Hustle Review
TF:
Early on in American Hustle, con artist Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) points out a fake Rembrandt to ambitious FBI man Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper). “It’s so good that it’s real to everybody,” he explains. “Who’s the master: the painter or the forger?” Behind the camera, David O. Russell concocts his own skillful imitation, coming up with a wholesale homage to Martin Scorsese that is shot through with so much humour and style that nobody’s going to leave feeling cheated.
As with The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook, Hustle sees Russell take a well-worn formula and rebuild it from the ground up, retaining the familiar structure while refreshing the components, aided in no small part by extraordinary performances that repay off-kilter casting choices.
Funny, sexy and stylish as hell, Russell’s Scorsese homage lacks the zip of Marty’s greatest work, but makes up for it with hilarious dialogue and a killer ensemble on top form.
