"American Hustle", the Big Empty

American Hustle

How many times I have written this before? Hype, the problem is the hype. You can have a flamboyant cast, the coolest aesthetics, a thousand nominations and all the favourable praise... but do you have a movie, one with substance, one that endures after the final vanish? I'm afraid not. "American Hustle" is a well-designed, extremely well in what regards to looks, entertainment product, but not a film that deserves to be remembered.

The other word that comes to my mind with "American Hustle" is fake. David O. Rusell wanted to have it all. Professional grifters caught by the police, who want to use them to catch a "bigger fish", so here's a thriller aiming to be the next "The Sting" (but loosely based on a real case, the ABSCAM operation)? Check. A tale about late 1970s -early 1980s, so every single scene must say something about how people dressed and behaved then?. Check. An eccentric comedy, with husbands, wives and mothers, all full of obsessions (again the looks)? Check.. Some sexual tension between the main characters, so we can add something else to the betrayal's game? Sure, check. A bit about corruption, but including an honest man? Check. Some dances? Check. And even Robert de Niro doing the mob impersonation once again, so you can proudly show what you are aiming for? Check, check, check. I know you already know what I'm going to write about: too much. Obviously, and that make the movie hard to believe.

"Silver Linings Playbook" was less pretentious, and to my view, although far from being memorable, it worked better as a whole. Primarily, because there was space for the characters to develop their roles, so Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence had the chance of showing their acting talents throughout the film. But in "American Hustle" the stunning cast doesn't have the chance. Lawrence's role as the vulgar and explosive Rosalyn Rosenfeld is just a need of the script (pretty weak imo) and a resource for funny scenes. Cooper as the cop Richie DiMaso and Christian Bale as Irving Rosenfeld do as much as they can with the material provided, but they are supposed to be suffering hell in one scene to be making fun in the next. Hard to believe. Amy Adams as Sydney Prosser might have the most interesting role... I can't see why does she need to be showing her cleavage in every single scene, but I'm certain she makes the film get going.    

I won't spoil the film for you, don't worry, but being a movie about scams, there's a gigantic one, and then THE TRICK. Couldn't buy it sorry, and wasn't that interested on the process to achieve it. Same goes about the finale, seriously lame. I concede that it could be just me. Entertaining? Yes. With some charm and some sort of originality? Agreed too. But not much aside from that. Seriously overhyped.

SCORE: 5/10

"Silver Linings Playbook", Hollywood oddball

Silver Linings Playbook

This is, in my opinion, the sort of film that will get (better said has achieved) a lot of supporters as well as haters. The sort of movie that, almost from the very beginning, the spectator has to decide (whether consciously or not would deserve another post) if he/she believes it. To be honest, these black or white positions aren't fair with "Silver Linings Playbook", a film with a noteworthy share of attractive, but not that special to be a divisive, controversial one. Well, I guess that's the consequence of receiving such an exaggerated buzz, certified by the Oscars.

Did I "buy" the story myself? Not really. But that didn't ruin the film for me either. I guess my expectations weren't that high, wasn't looking for a movie with much substance and therefore I enjoyed its well-developed flow, as well as the chemistry and good job of the main actors. To me, "Silver Linings Playbook" is nothing more than a well executed romantic comedy with what could have been some intriguing dark twists that director David O. Russell is not interested to follow. Nothing surprising or mind-blowing, but probably better than your average Hollywood chick flick. Agreeable, with some charms, but far from the outstanding piece some have seen.

The story of Pat Solitano, very well performed by Bradley Cooper, who surprisingly (at least to me) shows a very different range from his recurrent perfume-ad boy with conviction, is not very new on surface. A troubled guy with bipolar disorder tries to reconnect with his previous life after spending some time in a mental institution. The shadow of a serious drama appears, helped by the apparition of Robert De Niro as his father, as seriously troubled, but accepted by society, as his son. But Russell shifts the focus, offering us a love story instead.

Well, the rom-com side clearly wins the pulse here. It's enjoyable thanks to Cooper and the magnetic, stunning presence of Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany. My question is: being so attractive to the camera makes you an award winner? You can't help but feel moved by the dance and their relation. I'll be generous and I'll concede the film the benefit of wanting to build that sentimental link with not the usual tricks (although some could argue conversations and the mix between sports and love are a bit confusing a couple of times). But "Silver Linings Playbook" is also predictable and flat at the end. A happy ending for a Hollywood oddball. Praise the intentions or blame its shortcomings, that's up to you. I just can't see why this film is so special, for the good and the bad.

SCORE: 5,75/10  

"The Fighter", boxing and family triumph by K.O.

The Fighter
Great surprise. Wasn't expecting much, because boxing has been overused by Hollywood, and so the topic of redemption/second opportunity through sport, which is on the verge of being a worrying cliché. But luckily, "The Fighter" offers a lot more.

To start with, because boxing remains on the background of the movie, and although it is based on the true story of "Irish" Micky Ward, a local hero from Lowell, Massachusetts, the film instead reveals itself as a familiar drama where there are far more punches at the emotional level that inside the ring.

During the first hour of "The Fighter", we saw a family holding on to nothing, struggling with the decadence of Dick Ecklund (Christian Bale), once a boxing local legend, but now a human waste, consumed by crack addiction. The family is sticking with him, living of the past glory, dragging his younger brother Mick Ward (Mark Wahlberg), who also tries to be a boxer, with them. There's no glamour in this portray, as director David O Russell shows us how poverty is around the corner, and how family and the familiar business boxing is, is disgusting and ugly.

Russell really manages to make us feel the suffocating environment in which Mick is trapped because of his family. He also is able to bring the outsider character into the mix, in the form of a girlfriend (played solidly by Amy Adams), someone really meaningful to Mick who has no fear in saying the things he cannot say to his mother and sisters. She's liberation for him, a reason to keep fighting, and deciding to walk his own way. 

It might be true the second half of the film is more uplifting, with a happier, friendlier tone with the characters. Being a true story I feel inclined to believe it, or maybe, by the time the second opportunity arrives, I cannot avoid to feel a bit compelled by it. But even then, the film has glimpses of harsh reality in a poignant dialogue, a gesture, or awkward situation where the unbalanced relation between the brothers still arises. This wouldn't be possible without the brilliant job of the actors, not just Bale's manic impersonation of Dick, which made him won a deserved Oscar, but everyone on screen. Special credit to Wahlberg's performance, carrying the film on his shoulders, sometimes with just an appalled face.

So, yes, this is another movie about underdogs trying to succeed. But this time the fight is for survival, there's real darkness, filthiness, consistency, and a remarkable honesty in the script, acting and direction. Overall, a knockout triumph.

SCORE: 7,5/10