I came back
to university earlier than my Christmas holidays ended to spend the New Year’s
in London. Although this was fun, I found myself slumming around in my room not
knowing what to do with myself with the abundance of days. Thus, I made a plan
to actually go out and explore the city.
I decided to spend my Thursday
morning (yesterday) in Trafalgar Square (link to post here) and my afternoon in Islington at their Vue cinema to watch
American Hustle…
…it
attracted an unexpected plethora of ages, from what I perceived as pushing 70
to 15. Some came in groups, some with their partners, and some, like I, alone.
It was an interesting thing to see – a film had pieced together a jigsaw of
ages that didn’t quite seem to fit, but surprisingly did.
The film began mid-story, right on a
cliff-hanger; the audience are oblivious to this until we start playing catch
up. It catapults back into the past, into the months coming up to ‘present
day’, and then hurtles through into the unfolding aftermath. The smidge of
narrative by Rosenfeld definitely cements the story.
The character of Irving Rosenfeld
(played by Christian Bale) is the first to be introduced: David O. Russell
(director) plays on the grip that is comedy and uses this to coax the audience
into the story. We’re thrown immediately into the story plot with gaps in our
knowledge, desperate to fill in the blanks. Genius.
The fantastic duo that is Bradley
Cooper and Amy Adams are then introduced. Both have magnificent characters that
draw you in and push you away in the space of a second – this mental roller-coaster that you have to ride is exhausting but well worth the time. They
play key to Bale’s arguably protagonist role: each character clashes and
daggers into the others. There is no harmonious relationship between them, and
this amplifies the wackiness and the fun…
…and that,
I feel, is the perfect way to introduce Jennifer Lawrence’s role: Rosalyn
Rosenfeld. It’s not hard to argue that there was definitely more anticipation
for Jennifer’s debut in this film – the character was written specifically for
her. And oh is it wonderful. I know it
may be a little bit biased (I’m a fangirl, who isn’t???) but she genuinely is a treat in this film.
She brings comedy and captivates desperation and this terrific spectrum of
emotions and comebacks that tilt the scene in one direction when it is speeding
off in another. It’s hard to believe that Lawrence is only 23, but obvious as
to why O. Russell wanted her to return – not unlike his hit, Silver Lining’s
Playbook, Cooper, Lawrence and De Niro (who brings such suave and intensity)
make a fabulous trio, despite their abundance of scene-sharing (Cooper and De
Niro come face to face in one scene and one scene only).
The unravelling of this exhilarating movie
is one you should definitely be present for – you’ll be surprised.
I think
that is the fundamental thing that I felt when I left: how this movie does not
conform to the staple drama, and how many things are unexpected. But I guess
that is the case with David O. Russell: one promising director I’m excited to
see more work from.
L.
**There are many things that I've missed out such as the supporting actors and the actual plot but the film was just packed with too much goodness to share! Think of this as my bite-sized morsel. If you want to know more, go see it! :)
(image credit to: http://www.pickywallpapers.com/1280x1024/movies-tvshows/american-hustle/american-hustle-poster-wallpaper/download/)
