American Hustle (2013 film)

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American Hustle
American Hustle 2013 poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by David O. Russell
Produced by
Written by Eric Warren Singer
David O. Russell
Starring
Music by Danny Elfman
Cinematography Linus Sandgren
Editing by
Studio Atlas Entertainment
Annapurna Pictures
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release dates
  • December 12, 2013 (Australia)
  • December 20, 2013 (United States)
Running time 138 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $40 million[2][3]
Box office $131,531,191[3]
American Hustle is a 2013 American crime comedy-drama film directed by David O. Russell, from a screenplay written by Eric Warren Singer and Russell, loosely based on the FBI ABSCAM operation of the late 1970s and early 1980s.[4] It stars Christian Bale and Amy Adams as two con artists who are forced by an FBI agent (played by Bradley Cooper) to set up an elaborate sting operation on corrupt politicians, including the mayor of Camden, New Jersey (played by Jeremy Renner). Jennifer Lawrence supports the cast as the unpredictable wife of Bale's character.
Principal photography on American Hustle began on March 8, 2013 in Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts, and New York City. The film had its nationwide release in the United States on December 20, 2013.[5] The film received positive reviews and was a box office success. It received ten Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay,[6] and became the second film since 1981 to be nominated in the four acting categories, the first being Silver Linings Playbook, which was also directed by David O. Russell and also starred Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. American Hustle also won three Golden Globe Awards and ten BAFTA Awards, among other achievements.

Plot

In 1978, con artists Irving Rosenfeld and Sydney Prosser have met, started a relationship, and are working together. Sydney has improved Irving’s scams, posing as British aristocrat "Lady Edith Greensley". They are a well-matched couple, but Irving refuses to leave his adopted son with wife Rosalyn, who will not divorce him.
FBI agent Richie Di Maso catches Irving and Sydney in a loan scam, but offers to release them if Irving can line up four additional arrests. Sydney opposes the agreement. Richie believes Sydney is British, but has proof that her claim of aristocracy is fraudulent. Sydney tells Irving she will manipulate Richie, distancing herself from Irving.
Irving has a friend pretending to be a wealthy Arab Sheikh looking for potential investments in America. An associate of Irving's suggests that the Sheikh do business with Mayor Polito of Camden, New Jersey. The popular mayor is campaigning to revitalize gambling in Atlantic City but has struggled to raise the necessary funds. Richie devises a plan to entrap Polito despite the objections of his boss Stoddard Thorsen and Irving. Sydney helps Richie manipulate an FBI secretary into making an unauthorized wire transfer of $2 million. When Thorsen's boss, Anthony Amado, hears of the operation, he praises Richie's initiative, pressuring Thorsen to continue the operation.
Richie's over-eagerness to catch Polito causes the mayor to leave their meeting. Irving convinces Polito that the Sheikh is legitimate, expresses his dislike of Richie, and the two become friends. Richie arranges for Polito to meet the Sheikh at an airfield, forcing Thorsen into further expenses. Without consulting the others, Richie has a Mexican-American FBI agent play the part of the Sheikh.
Polito brings the Sheikh to a casino party, telling him that mobsters are there and it is a necessary part of doing business. Irving is surprised to see that the violent Mafia overlord Victor Tellegio, second-in-command to Meyer Lansky, is there, and wants to meet the Sheikh. Tellegio explains the business will need the Sheikh to become an American citizen, and Polito will need to expedite the process, bribing officials if necessary. Tellegio also requires a $10 million wire transfer, to prove the Sheikh's legitimacy. Richie agrees, eager to bring down Tellegio, convincing Irving the operation is out of control.
Richie tells Sydney he loves her, but becomes confused and aggressive when she admits to being American. Irving intercedes to protect Sydney, and attempts to call off their deal with Richie. Richie says that if they back out, Tellegio will learn of the scam and murder Irving, Sydney, Rosalyn and Rosalyn's son.
Rosalyn starts an affair with Pete Musane, a mobster she met at the party. She mentions her belief that Irving is possibly working with the IRS, so Musane threatens Irving, who promises to prove the Sheikh's investment is real. Irving later confronts Rosalyn, who admits she told Musane because she feels unloved. Rosalyn agrees to keep quiet about the plan, but now wants a divorce.
With Polito's help, Richie and Irving entrap members of Congress into receiving bribes on videotape. Richie goes over Thorsen, convincing Amado that $10 million is needed to entrap Tellegio, but only gets $2 million. A meeting is arranged at the offices of Tellegio's lawyer, but Tellegio does not show up. The operation continues and Richie records an admission of criminal activities when the lawyer accepts the transfer.
Irving visits Polito's house and admits to the scam. Polito blames Irving, saying he only wanted to improve New Jersey. The money is missing, but an anonymous source offers to return it in exchange for immunity for Irving and Sydney and a reduced sentence for Polito. Amado is willing to make the deal but Richie objects. Irving suggests Richie either has the money or is incompetent for losing it. Irving actually had a friend pose as Tellegio's lawyer to con Richie, to give him leverage and keep them away from the mob. Amado accepts the deal and removes Richie from the case.
Irving and Sydney get married and open an art gallery, while Rosalyn marries Musane and shares custody of her son with Irving. The mob accepts that Irving deflected attention from them, and they let him get on with his life.

Cast

Several of the characters are fictional versions of specific real-life counterparts:[7][8]

Production

Development

The film began its life as a screenplay titled American Bullshit, by Eric Warren Singer. The screenplay was listed at #8 on the 2010 Black List of unproduced screenplays. The film was set up at Columbia Pictures with Charles Roven and Richard Suckle producing through Atlas Entertainment, who initially considered Ben Affleck to direct before David O. Russell ultimately signed on to helm the film.[9] Russell re-wrote Singer's screenplay, replacing the characters with caricatures of their respective real-life figures.

Production

Principal photography started on March 8, 2013 and wrapped in May 2013.[10][11] The film was shot using locations in and around Boston, Massachusetts (such as in Worcester) and New York.[12][13] Filming had to be put on hold in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings with the city in lockdown. After lockdown was lifted, the film wrapped its Boston shoot and spent its final few days of production in New York City.[14]
Christian Bale revealed in an interview that the majority of his character interactions were improvised in multiple takes in which he questioned David O. Russell about the plot. Russell responded that what he had wanted to focus on were the characters, rather than the plot.[citation needed] To prepare for the role, Christian Bale gained 50 pounds.

Release

Director David O. Russell released the teaser trailer for the film on July 31, 2013,[15] and a theatrical trailer was released on October 9, 2013.[16] In the United States, the film made its wide release on December 20, 2013.[17]

Critical response

American Hustle received critical acclaim upon its release. The cast received praise for their performances, notably Adams and Lawrence. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 93% rating, based on reviews from 233 critics with an average score of 8.2/10. The site's consensus reads, "Riotously funny and impeccably cast, American Hustle compensates for its flaws with unbridled energy and some of David O. Russell's most irrepressibly vibrant direction."[18] Metacritic gives a score of 90/100, indicating "universal acclaim", based on reviews from 47 critics.[19]
Christy Lemire awarded the film four out of four stars, praising David O. Russell's directing and the relationship between Irving and Sydney, as well as Jennifer Lawrence's portrayal of Rosalyn. She writes: "For all its brashness and big personality, American Hustle is a character study at its core—an exploration of dissatisfaction and drive, and the lengths to which we're willing to go for that elusive thing known as a better life."[20] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film an A+, especially complimenting Bradley Cooper's performance and stating that American Hustle was "the best time I've had at the movies all year." He later named it the year's best film.[21] Time magazine's Richard Corliss wrote, "American Hustle is an urban eruption of flat-out fun — the sharpest, most exhilarating comedy in years. Anyone who says otherwise must be conning you."[22]
Peter Debruge of Variety was critical of the film, calling it "a sloppy sprawl of a movie" and complaining that the improvisational performances overwhelm instead of adding to a coherent plot.[23]

Accolades

Main article: List of accolades received by American Hustle (2013 film)
American Hustle received seven Golden Globe Award nominations; it won for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, with Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence winning Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture respectively. The film has also been nominated for ten British Academy Film Awards and ten Academy Awards. On Thursday, January 16, 2014, it was announced that American Hustle had been nominated for a total of 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor for Christian Bale, Best Actress for Amy Adams, Best Supporting Actor for Bradley Cooper, Best Supporting Actress for Jennifer Lawrence, Best Director for David O. Russell and Best Original Screenplay for David O. Russell and Eric Warren Singer. This is the second consecutive year in which a film by David O. Russell has received nominations in all four acting categories (after Silver Linings Playbook).

Differences from reality

American Hustle makes no great attempt at directly documenting the Abscam storyline: the names are changed, and the film begins with the unusual on-screen message, "Some of this actually happened".[8] Major differences from reality include:
  • In the film, Irving Rosenfeld begins a life of criminality when he smashes storefront windows as a child in order to provide more work for his father's glass-installation business. In real life, Melvin Weinberg began working for his father only as an adult. He did smash windows at that point, and according to one article after Abscam was revealed, it was indeed done to shore up business for Weinberg's father.[24] A later report, however, states that it was done at the behest of the local union, to punish businesses who used non-union glaziers.[25]
  • In the film, Camden mayor Carmine Polito is shown as a selfless politician who gets involved in the scam only to provide jobs to his constituents; Irving feels so bad for Carmine that he engineers a reduced sentence for him. In reality, though Camden mayor Angelo Errichetti was widely praised for caring about the people of Camden, he also had a reputation for criminality, and during the Abscam operation offered to get the fake sheik into illegal businesses such as money counterfeiting and drug smuggling. Though Weinberg developed a fondness for Errichetti as a man who "didn't beat around the bush", he made no attempt to protect Errichetti from prosecution.[25]
  • Evelyn Knight, Weinberg's mistress on whom the character of Sydney Prosser is based, was involved in Weinberg's scams, though to a lesser extent than shown in the film; and she was not involved in Abscam. She was also English, not an American impersonating an Englishwoman as shown in the film.[8]
  • Weinberg's wife Cynthia Marie Weinberg, the basis for Rosalyn Rosenfeld, is not known to have had an affair with someone from the mafia, nor did she nearly blow Weinberg's cover.[26]
  • The character of Richie DiMaso is based to some extent on federal agent Tony Amoroso, although in real life Amoroso was just one of a number of agents involved in setting up and executing the scam.[26]
  • In the film, the sheik is played by a Mexican-American FBI agent with very limited Arabic. In real life, the sheik was played by two different agents: first briefly by an American, Mike Denehy, who spoke no Arabic, then by a Lebanese-American.[25][26]
Though some of the film's changes have the effect of increasing the sense of moral ambiguity around Abscam, it was indeed a controversial operation, with some critics calling it entrapment, and others decrying the operation's cost, the fact that it was headed by a convicted criminal, and its effect of reducing public trust in the government only a few years after the Watergate scandal.[25]

References

  1. Jump up ^ "AMERICAN HUSTLE (2013)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  2. Jump up ^ Steve Chagollan (November 19, 2013). "‘Hustle’ Ups Ante for Charles Roven, David O. Russell". Variety. "When pressed with a $40 million-$50 million figure, Roven responds: “I’d say that’s a good zone.”" Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "American Hustle". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  4. Jump up ^ Sherman, Ted (November 25, 2013). "Jersey Hustle: The real-life story of Abscam". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 2013-12-03.
  5. Jump up ^ Caroline Westbrook. "Jennifer Lawrence begins work on untitled Abscam project with Bradley Cooper". Metro.co.uk. March 22, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  6. Jump up ^ http://oscar.go.com/nominees
  7. Jump up ^ History Vs Hollywood: American Hustle, 2013
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c Hughes, Evan (December 12, 2013). "How Much of American Hustle Actually Happened?". Slate.
  9. Jump up ^ "Affleck Eyes Blacklist Abscam Drama", Deadline.com, January 18, 2011
  10. Jump up ^ "David O Russell’s ‘American Hustle’ Halts Production Because Of Boston Manhunt". Deadline.com. PMC. April 19, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
  11. Jump up ^ "David O. Russell wraps work on ‘American Hustle’". Boston.com. May 13, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
  12. Jump up ^ Warner, Kara (April 16, 2013). "David O. Russell’s Next Movie Now Called ‘American Hustle’". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
  13. Jump up ^ "Jennifer Lawrence, Amy Adams strip in American Hustle trailer". India Today Online. August 1, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
  14. Jump up ^ "Boston Manhunt Forces Shutdown on American Hustle", Yahoo.com, April 19, 2013
  15. Jump up ^ "Hot Teaser: David O. Russell’s ‘American Hustle’". Deadline.com. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  16. Jump up ^ "Cooper, Lawrence reunite in American Hustle trailer". 10 October 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  17. Jump up ^ "First Look: David O. Russell's 'American Hustle'". Usatoday.com. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  18. Jump up ^ "American Hustle (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  19. Jump up ^ "American Hustle". Metacritic. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  20. Jump up ^ Lemire, Christy (December 13, 2013). "American Hustle". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  21. Jump up ^ Roeper, Richard (December 13, 2013). "American Hustle". Chicago Sun-Times via RichardRoeper.com. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  22. Jump up ^ Corliss, Richard (December 5, 2013). "American Hustle: Sex, Scandal and Flat-Out Fun". Time. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  23. Jump up ^ Debruge, Peter (December 16, 2013). "How American Hustle Conned the Critics". Variety. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  24. Jump up ^ "Mel Weinberg". People. People. 29 December 1980. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  25. ^ Jump up to: a b c d So, Jimmy (December 17, 2013). "The Real Story and Lesson of the Abscam Sting in ‘American Hustle’". The Daily Beast.
  26. ^ Jump up to: a b c Dockterman, Eliana (December 16, 2013). "American Hustle: The True Story". Time.

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