American Hustle

Grade: B-

American Hustle is a triumph in art direction, cinematography, costumes, hair, and has a terrific soundtrack. Director David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook, The Fighter, I Heart Huckabees, Three Kings) adds to his increasingly eclectic resume, and he really makes us feel 1978 every step of the way. The 4 leads do among their best work, and will probably get some well-deserved acting nominations. The problem with the film is it never “launched” for me. I kept waiting for things to elevate to the intensity the plot seemed to call for, but I never felt the stakes, and there was an interminable amount of voice-over narration, which is usually a lazy technique. I badly wanted to love this movie. It appeared to have the potential to be this year’s Boogie Nights, but when all was said and done, it just made me want to watch Boogie Nights again. You wanna talk about tension and stakes? THAT’S a film that has it.

Grade: B-