American Hustle: DVD Review
The Movie:
A fictional film set in the alluring world of one of the most stunning scandals to rock our nation, American Hustle tells the story of brilliant con man Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale), who along with his equally cunning and seductive British partner Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) is forced to work for a wild FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper). DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia that’s as dangerous as it is enchanting. Jeremy Renner is Carmine Polito, the passionate, volatile, New Jersey political operator caught between the con-artists and Feds. Irving’s unpredictable wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) could be the one to pull the thread that brings the entire world crashing down.
This was a film that when I first saw the trailer for it I figured this was a straight forward crime drama/heist film and I didn’t expect anything more than that. I was pleasantly surprised when seeing the film play out as a partial comedy with a heist story weaved in. Russell has done such a fantastic job at bringing together an all star group of actors that have done extraordinary work individually and now have shown that together they could lead such a perfectly constructed film (Oscars be damned). As soon as you see the first scene of the film you know what you’re getting into as Bale (as Rosenfeld) is getting himself dressed and ready. Bale has shown again and again that he can become any character he chooses. He embodies whatever it is he is doing at that time and gives it 110% and that’s evident in the character he plays in this film. Cooper I feel stole a good portion of the show with the great chemistry that he had with Bale. Internal conflict is always entertaining to see on screen and there definitely was a lot of that coming from Agent DiMaso. Some of his scenes are strong but at the same time down right ridiculous (in a good way) mainly just because of the way he plays his role. Renner has shown such growth in recent years has cemented himself in Hollywood’s A-list and has proved that he is a fantastic character actor as well. Lawrence and Adams seem like two sides of the same coin. They each had their different roles but at the same time vying for the same man. It’s hard to explain but the were so similar yet so different with a mean streak in each. I could honestly go on and on about the cast for the simple fact that they were put together awesomely but I won’t. Instead I suggest you check out this film and make the decision for yourself. It really is a must buy.
Special Features:
The Making of American Hustle – A decent 16 minute feature with interviews from cast and crew about the making of the film.
Deleted and Extended Scenes – A good group of scenes that actually could’ve been left in for the most part.
American Hustle is available March 18th on Blu-ray and DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
