Following up Silver Linings Playbook’s critical and commercial success couldn’t have been easy. Still, Russell successfully did so just one year after the former’s release. He worked with actors from his two previous films, The Fighter and Playbook, to bring these colorful characters to life by playing roles unlike any they had played before. The film follows two con artists (Christian Bale and Amy Adams) who are forced by an FBI Agent (Bradley Cooper) to conduct an elaborate sting operation to catch corrupt politicians, including the mayor of Camden, New Jersey (Jeremy Renner). The film is inspired by the real-life Abscam operation conducted by the FBI in the late 1970s and early 80s. As always, a spoiler alert is in effect.
Unlike Playbook, American Hustle started life as a spec script initially titled American Bullshit. The screenplay, by Eric Warren Singer, was ranked number eight on 2010’s Blacklist (an annual survey of the “most liked” unproduced scripts as voted on by Hollywood executives, agents, managers, etc.). The script was acquired by Charles Roven and Richard Suckle through Atlas Entertainment and was set up at Columbia Pictures. In early 2011, Ben Affleck, off the success of The Town, was in talks to direct. He ultimately chose to make Argo instead, a film that would later win the Academy Award for Best Picture over Playbook. Russell eventually signed on to direct the film after he completed Playbook. He also re-wrote Singer’s screenplay, replacing the characters with composites and caricatures of the real-life figures. Russell also changed the title to the friendlier American Hustle.
As the film entered pre-production, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, and Jeremy Renner were cast as con artists Irving Rosenfeld and Sydney Prosser, FBI Agent Richie DiMaso, and Mayor Carmine Polito, respectively. The other primary casting choice was hiring Jennifer Lawrence as Irving’s anxious and unpredictable wife, Rosalyn. Rounding out the supporting cast were Shea Whigham, Michel Pena, Jack Huston, Alessandro Nivola, and Louis C.K. Filming began in March 2013 and concluded in May. Filming was conducted in Boston and New York. Filming was subsequently delayed for a bit when Boston went on lockdown after the Boston Marathon bombings. This gave Russell a little over six months to complete the film for its December release date.
My favorite aspect of this film is the vibe. When I say “vibe,” I’m considering the production design, costume design, and soundtrack – anything that helps set the film’s tone. Right off the bat, we’re exposed to this vibe when the vintage Columbia Pictures logo from the 1970s with the crackling film stock appears on screen. As the first scene unfolds, America’s “A Horse with No Name” plays in the background while Irving constructs a rather elaborate combover. As the trio of Irving, Sydney, and Richie walk through the Plaza Hotel with a briefcase, Steely Dan’s “Dirty Work” plays over the studio and production company title cards. Many of Russell’s films have significant needle drops. Think of Led Zeppelin in Playbook or Whitesnake in The Fighter. I think this film has the best needle drops of any of his movies. In addition to the two aforementioned songs, Russell also drops classics like “Good Times Bad Times” and “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.” Three tracks stick out in my mind. The first is Irving, Carmine, and his entourage singing karaoke to Tom Jones’ “Delilah.” The second is when Irving and Carmine enter the car driven by Pete (Jack Huston), and Paul McCartney and Wings’ “Live and Let Die” comes on. Then the film cuts between the trio in the car and Rosalyn angrily singing along to the song as she cleans. My favorite scene is when Irving and Rosalyn arrive at Carmine’s fundraiser and meet Carmine and his wife, Dolly. There is an air of uncertainty as Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” fades in. The most superb shot, in my opinion, is when, outside the building, a couple of spotlights break and smoke fills the screen. Through the smoke steps Richie and Sydney together as the camera moves in. In the next shot, the “Sheik” and his men appear, seemingly out of nowhere, and the camera does the same movement.
I am going to be honest with you all. The plot left me confused. I understood most of it, but some things confused me. Aside from the film’s vibe, the performances were redeeming for me. I thoroughly enjoyed how unique each character was. As Irving, Christian Bale displays much courage and respectability, even as a conman. He adopts Rosalyn’s son as his own and takes both of them under his wing of protection. You can see the conflict in his eyes when he falls for Sydney, even though he legitimately loves Rosalyn. You also see the same conflict as he befriends Carmine, but realizes that he will have to turn his friend in to survive. As Sydney (aka Edith), Amy Adams brings confidence and warmth to the role. Sydney is lost, and she creates her alter ego of Edith because it allows her an escape from life. She also enjoys tormenting Irving, whom she loves, by being a tease around Richie. Jeremy Renner brings an everyman quality to the role of Carmine. He loves his wife and loves his city. Despite performing illegal activities to secure funding, he does have the town’s best interests at heart. Seeing his friendship with Irving disintegrate is tough.
Arguably, the best performance comes from Jennifer Lawrence. As Roslyn, she is a functioning, yet depressive, housewife. She and Irving love each other, but the passion isn’t there. She spends all day sitting at home with her son. Despite this, she refuses to get a divorce, saying there are no divorces in her family. Despite being a functioning depressive, she is pretty observant. She knows that most of Irving’s business is illegitimate and holds that over him when she needs to. She also realizes that Irving is having an affair with Sydney. She seems okay with that fact until the two women meet at a fundraiser for Carmine Polito. She’s also got bad anxiety that makes social situations difficult for her. However, meeting Carmine’s wife, Dolly, seems to help get her out of her shell. Despite her best intentions, she does irritate Irving by not cleaning up after herself, starting multiple small fires (accidentally), and meddling in her business. Overall, you can’t help but see sadness in Rosalyn.
My favorite performance is Cooper as Agent Richie DiMaso. Like in Playbook, Richie has calmness in one moment and an explosive temper in the next. As an audience member, you don’t always know when he is telling the truth. When he detains Sydney, he messes with her, and it’s unclear if he is the one who ordered the lack of light and furniture in the holding cell. Richie wants so badly to succeed, you can see that. However, in his quest to succeed, Richie does some questionable things. Despite her working for him, he falls for Sydney (whom he knows as Edith). He beats his boss, Stoddard Thorsen (Louis C.K.), into submission with a phone. Speaking of Stoddard, the rapport between the two is quite humorous. Stoddard attempts to tell Richie (whom he always calls Richard) a story about how he and his brother went ice fishing when they were younger. Richie constantly interrupts him before he gets to the end of the story, always guessing (incorrectly) the moral. Richie has a contempt for Stoddard, so much so that he goes around him to the Attorney General. When the Attorney General praises a plan Stoddard did not approve, he has the great line, “You make me accept praise from my boss for a plan I didn’t approve…” Another funny scene is Richie, hair in curlers, eating chicken wings in the bathroom while his hair sets, only to get into an argument with his mom.
The film was released on December 13, 2013 to positive reviews. It became the highest-grossing film of Russell’s career, earning $251 million on a $40 million budget. In early 2014, the film led the pack with ten Academy Award nominations. The film was Russell’s second consecutive film to be nominated for the Big Five (Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor, Actress) and to earn nominations in all four acting categories. Funny enough, for all four nominated actors (Bale, Adams, Cooper, and Lawrence), American Hustle marks not only their second collaboration with Russell but also their second collaboration with Russell that earned them nominations. Interestingly enough, Bale and Adams were nominated in the supporting actors category for The Fighter (Bale won), but were nominated in the lead category for this film. On the flip side of the coin, Cooper and Lawrence were nominated in the lead categories for Playbook, but they were nominated in the supporting categories for this film. Despite the ten nominations, the film went home empty-handed. The film received the second-highest number of nominations with no wins, an honor it shares with Gangs of New York, True Grit (2010), The Irishman, and Killers of the Flower Moon. The record is 11 nominations with no wins (The Turning Point and The Color Purple).
Watching this film a decade on is an odd experience. I was a freshman in high school when this film came out, and I remember all of the hype. I follow an Oscar subreddit, and public perception has changed over the past decade. Many Redditors believe that the film is overrated and didn’t warrant the ten nominations it received. I don’t know if I would go that far, but I think time has been kinder for other Best Picture nominees (like Captain Phillips, Her, and The Wolf of Wall Street). Many Redditors on that subreddit and a couple of Awards Analysts I watch on YouTube have issues with Bradley Cooper’s nomination in Supporting Actor. I’ll admit, it’s not his strongest performance, but I still like it. This was the year that Jared Leto swept for Dallas Buyers Club (a role he couldn’t play today), so Cooper had no chance, especially over competition like Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips), Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave), and Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street). Amy Adams in Best Actress is a nomination I’m fine with. Surprisingly, it is her only nomination in the Lead Actress category, although I believe her lead performance in Arrival warranted a nomination. Cate Blanchett won many awards for Blue Jasmine, including the Oscar. I imagine the only real competition she faced was Sandra Bullock in Gravity.
The only nomination I have an issue with is Christian Bale for Best Actor. Christian Bale is a phenomenal actor. I’m thrilled with his win for The Fighter and thought his performance in Vice was excellent. I thought Bale’s performance in this film was good, but not his best. Matthew McConaughey swept the season for Dallas Buyers Club, and rightly so. Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street), Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), and Bruce Dern (Nebraska) were inspired choices. What bugs me about Bale’s nomination is that, in my mind, he took the place that belonged to Tom Hanks in Captain Phillips. I believe that Captain Phillips was Hanks’ finest performance since Cast Away. Because he earned nominations at the Golden Globes, BAFTA, and SAG, it stings even more that he failed to earn an Oscar nomination. I would have much rather seen Hanks nominated over Bale. That’s my own beef.
The closest the film came to winning in any category was Jennifer Lawrence for Best Supporting Actress. She won in that category at both BAFTA and the Golden Globes. Despite winning the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble, Lawrence was the only individual performer singled out with a nomination. Ultimately, Lupita Nyong’o won for 12 Years A Slave. Aside from Nyong’o giving a tour de force performance, I imagine the fact that Jennifer Lawrence won an Oscar the year before probably turned off voters. That and the fact that the film was Nyong’o’s screen debut probably impressed voters. Nearly a dozen years later, I think the right choice was made.
Unfortunately, it’s safe to say that Russell’s career peaked in 2013. After a remarkable run of three critically acclaimed films that grossed over $600 million and garnered 25 Oscar nominations, Russell’s career never reached the same heights. He next re-teamed with Jennifer Lawrence for 2015’s Joy, a film about Joy Mangano, the inventor of the Miracle Mop. The film also starred Russell regulars Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper. Despite mixed reviews, the film did respectable business at the box office. The sole Oscar nomination the film received was for Best Actress for Lawrence. He followed up Joy, seven years later, with Amsterdam, a murder mystery comedy set in the world of 1930s politics. The film has an ensemble cast that includes Christian Bale, John David Washington, Margot Robbie, and Robert De Niro. The film was a box office bomb, reportedly losing over $100 million for 20th Century Studios. The reviews were also overwhelmingly negative, scoring a mere 31% on Rotten Tomatoes. His next film, Madden mentioned above, is on track to be released in late 2026 by Amazon MGM Studios. It will star Nicolas Cage as John Madden and Christian Bale as Al Davis.
Well, that’s the end of this series. It’s one of my shorter ones, but I appreciate you sticking with me. Until next time, thank you so much for reading, and keep an eye out for my next post!