American Hustle Review- 3 stars

 American Hustle is a baffling but ultimately enjoyable film. The main problem with the film is it's overly complicated story line. The plot of the film is so complex that by the time I had figured out one plot point the story had moved on and I was left again trying to puzzle out what the hell was going on in the film. Then at the end of the film, when I had finally sorted out the finer detail of the film's plot, there was an overly complicated plot twist which left me even more baffled. Now, you may be thinking that this is just my own stupidity and although it is true that I have an IQ below 69 I have spoken to other, more intelligent people who were also thrown by the film's plot. I have also read the Wikipedia summary of the plot which I will admit cleared things up. However, if a film is not understandable whilst being watched that surely reduces its' quality?

 Ok well the plot is the films' major problem. Now I'll get my only other slight problem out of the way. Now this will be quite controversial because of the huge amounts of praise that the actors have got but I did not think that some of the acting in this film was quite as good as the reviews and award nominations would suggest. I thought Christian Bale was amazing in making the not very likable and sleazy Irving believable and sympathetic whilst keeping the character's eccentricity and comedic value. Amy Adams was also good although her performance might have been hampered by the fact that it was impossible to work out what her character was meant to be doing or who she liked or just about anything. Now we get into slightly more critical territory. Bradley Cooper was very good throughout the majority of the film. In comparison to the Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner however, he did not create a believable character. I could never forget that it was Bradley Cooper on screen whereas ,with Christian Bale for example, I instead saw the character. The same goes for Jennifer Lawrence who again, although very good, never convinced me that she was her character. This could be dismissed in saying that it is OK to create a hyper realistic character in return for comedy but as the other characters are funny yet are also believable surely it is possible? Also as the film has a very clear romantic streak in it so it is important to make the characters relatable in order for the audience to invest in any relationships. This works in the case of Irving (Christian Bale) who the viewer feels genuinely sympathetic for in his relationships with both Amy Adams' and Jennifer Lawrence's character. In comparison I found the relationship between Bradley Cooper's FBI agent and Amy Adams' character slightly ridiculous and uninteresting apart from when it affected Irving.

 However, the film is fun and entertaining. It is very funny in places and as I have already said many times, I found Irving's plight touching and engaging. There is a lot of witty and quick banter in this film which makes for enjoyable watching and several laughs. It is also intelligent in questioning peoples aspirations in life: what is it that we want? Love, money, respect? The film's overall conclusion is not clear although I'm fairly sure it wasn't money. Perhaps if the plot was more clear I would be able to say for certain...? It is also a study in dissatisfaction. None of the character's in the film are satisfied with their lives. In the end they realise that actually they will never be satisfied with their life (it will never be perfect) and as a result they become satisfied.

American Hustle's main problem is it tries to be too many things at once: crime drama, romance and comedy which all crowd the film and make the plot and characters confusing. It also actor-whores (jamming a film full of Hollywood superstars e.g. Robert De Niro appearing for about 5 seconds) in the extreme but that might not be a bad thing, I just find it annoying.

Now for the ratings: Entertainment: 6 Intelligence: 3 Technical: 4 =13/20  ***



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