The Ultimate Prize: Review of American Hustle

American Hustle

Director: David O Russell

By Alex Watson

Films about confidence scams are normally a very suave and glittering affair and they always provide us with a story that is continually changing and usually there is a lot payoff that is mind blowing! Take for example the ending of The Sting, which still goes down as one of the great movie twists. This week, David O Russell makes a return to our screen to bring of a scam which is about to get out of control very quickly in American Hustle. 

In 1978, professional con artists Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) and Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) are making a killing by embezzling money out of desperate people. But when they are caught red handed by FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper), they are forced into co-operating to aid the feds catch other corrupt individuals in exchange for staying out of jail! Soon DiMaso hatches a plan to go after Camden, New Jersey mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner), but as the mission goes ahead, Irving’s unbalanced wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) threatens to hinder progress!

American Hustle is another fine effort from David O Russell and for the majority of the time this  very funny and enticing ride and the theme of corruption in 1970’s America aids the film well! There is also an entertaining feel in the films early part as we open on a tubby and balding Irving gluing part of a toupee to his head! And as we view their early swindles, it looks so easy and jovial, part of us would be delighted to join!

When they are caught by Richie, the party feel stops and smartly and a more hard and guilt edged feel comes over proceedings as our initial villains come to lament the choices they have made, but secretly know they cannot turn back without people getting majorly hurt! Things are also given an immense shakeup when mobster Victor Tellegio (Featuring a brilliantly menacing surprise cameo from a screen legend!) is introduced, a notoriously violent mobster who sees right through their fake Arab scam because he can actually speak Arabic! From this point on you sense these three are in over their heads and they will only sink deeper.

But perhaps the most thought provoking aspect of this movie us wondering just who the real bad guys are? Irving and Sydney are guilty are tricking people out of their money, but the FBI men are willing to wreck hard working people like Carmine, who only the best for his townspeople- simply because they can! Richie in particular, gets lost in the game and although initially having honorable intentions, soon becomes just like the criminals he puts away, although he has numerous warnings from his dull yet clever boss (Louis CK) he furiously disregards them and soon is on the road to ruin!

However, although things for the most part are well constructed, American Hustle does sometimes lose its way and with the various twists and turns that appear- events feel very dragged out and this movie is perhaps longer than it needs to be. Also the ending presented may not satisfy all tastes as it doesn’t have that uplifting or justified feeling we are all hoping for and events feel a little too neatly tied up!

But Russell’s movie produces a glut of stunning turns from his lead actors and theory are led by Christian Bale as the morally ambiguous Irving, who gives an excellent performance that is both very seedy but emotionally charged! Bradley Cooper also does well as Richie but is stuck with a less charming role and but gives him enough charisma to see things through.

On the female front, Jennifer Lawrence us scene stealingly brilliant as Rosalyn and she succeeds in both holding our attention but yet being brilliantly maniac-  her aggressive cleaning dance to Live and Let Die after an audacious revenge attempt is frighteningly memorable! Amy Adams as usual is solid and keep us guessing as to which she will fall on when the chips come down? Plus extra point for an impressive British accent!

American Hustle looks set to be a major player at the awards ceremonies this year, it may miss the main prizes, but the acting should merit at least one reward! David O Russell has found his A-Team (No pun intended Bradley) and his groove and is now fast becoming one of Hollywood’s best! Keep up the good work David.

Money Never Sleeps: Review of The Counselor

Cormac McCarthy’s works are like gold dust in Hollywood at the moment ever since the clutch of Oscar’s that the Coen Brothers delivered for No Country For Old Men. But this week we turn to a very different McCarthy venture his first original screenplay, The Counselor. Aided by Ridley Scott and what is possibly this years stariest cast, this project has been red hot since day one! But will great novelist make such as good wordsmith on the big screen?

The Counselor (Michael Fassbender) lives a successful life as legal council to drug lord Reiner (Javier Bardem) and businessman Westray (Brad Pitt) and now after proposing to his perfect girlfriend Laura (Penelope Cruz) has life seems complete. But when he is tempted into being involved in a shady deal that could reap huge rewards, things quickly go array! And the Counsellor is soon left to face the consequences of his actions.

Sadly although it looks and seems fantastic on the surface, The Counselor doesn’t nail the landing we hoped for! The primary problem with this movie is the sheer lack of explanation throughout! Not once do we ever find out who the Counsellor is or how he has suddenly become involved with this various dodgy characters who each bob up momentarily without any kind of introduction. By neglecting to include any kind of back story we never get a chance to know or like our characters and this burdens the film significantly and many hopefuls will no doubt go home baffled!

McCarthy’s first movie script is one which has some of the most rich sounding dialogue we will hear in 2013, including an hilarious line where Reiner where describes his girlfriend Malkina (Cameron Diaz) and how her Vagina looks like a catfish! But director Ridley Scott seems to awe of the lush sounding words and seems make the movie fall back on it and as a result it challenges the audience to make up its own mind on the events witnessed, though it makes its rather abrupt ending a little hard to accept.

The consequences of choices are reminded to us throughout The Counselor and this is one area where the movie does raise its game, from the very moment our hero gets a call from Westray saying “We have a problem” a dark cloud comes over! From there things begin to get tense as Cartel members close. There is also a heavy emotional to this section and what is unseen proves to be most powerful, one death in particular is so shocking to us we never even witness as moment of it. If Scott movie had stuck more to this, this could have been one of the movies of the year.

Michael Fassbender leaves by far the biggest impression acting wise as his Counselor character is the most emotionally complex of the movie and Fassbender’s great performance gives a figure to feel for throughout. Javier Bardem again sounds impressive in McCarthy dialogue, but it is a shame that Reiner is under-developed and isn’t given the meaty material he deserves.

Same could be said of Brad Pitt who rings in an excellent supporting turn as Westray, but although his character is compelling, he is not given nearly enough to work with. Cameron Diaz mash make good eye candy as the suspicious Malkina, but she doesn’t feel nearly icy enough to convince properly.

In many waste it is a shame that The Counselor doesn’t quite meet expectations because it has by far the best team assembled this year, but it could just be a case of too many cooks spoil the broth! But Cormac McCarthy could one day produced a script to die for, just remember to explain events next time!

5 Great Movie Detectives

• Clarice Starling (Silence of the Lambs): From the very moment we meet Jodie Foster’s bright eyed FBI trainee, we know this no ordinary woman, particularly as for her first assignment her boss sends her to interview deranged man eater Hannibal Lector (Anthony Hopkins) but unlike other men before her Starling is able to keep her head at the height of Lector’s cunning mind games and as a result, an odd partnership is formed and through she gains a key insight into the mind of serial killer ‘Buffalo Bill’ and despite being over her head, Starling is able make the break through!
• Jakes Gittes (Chinatown): Based in the City of Angels, Private Detective Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) makes a living by digging other people’s secrets. But when he stumbles across a huge scandal involving the cities water supply- he walks into a world of trouble. The most compelling aspect of Gittes character is iron like determination to reveal the truth, no matter how far he sticks his nose, which ironically leads to his noise being sliced! Even though his previous life as Assistant DA was scandal filled, Gittes in the face of immense threats and violence will get to the bottom of this, even though the final cost will be a life changing one!
• Rick Deckard (Bladerunner): Future cop Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) has been called back to duty when a group of escaped replicants who are wanted for murder come to earth. Initially a man who simply does his job ‘retiring’ replicants, things all change once Deckard experiences the infamous unicorn dream, which tears his world apart. This mental struggle and confusion is what sets Declare apart from our other characters as he must learn to shed his old self to truly become human and in Ridley Scott’s fascinating view of the future, this character is very potent.
• Lt.Ed Exley (LA Confidential): The newly minted detective of the LAPD has already made enemies among colleagues after snitching on two cops for drunkenly assaulting two days prisoners. But even after being hailed as hero for solving the ‘Night Owl Murders’ Exley (Guy Pearce) still feels suspicious and as he looks further into the cases a web of high up corruption is revealed. What makes Exley such a great cop is his fierce determination to set things right, even if it means bringing down the very case that made him and incurring the wrath of thug cop Bud White (Russell Crowe).
• Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon): At the height of Film Noir, no one made a cooler Private Eye than Humphrey Bogart and as Sam Spade he was on top form! When Spade’s partner is killed whilst investigating, he is approached by a random woman for assistant locating a statue of a falcon, which in turn will see him come in contact with three equally keen men who also want ‘The Black Bird’ Spade and his old school method make Jim a blue print for many slick detectives that follow and mixed in with the sheet class of Bogart, we have a classic through and through!

The Bright Lights of Hell: Review of Only God Forgives

Only God Forgives

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn

By Alex Watson

After the visually beautiful and multiply acclaimed movie Drive in 2011, the celebrated partnership Ryan Gosling and Nicolas Winding Refn return to our screens with their Bangkok based drama Only God Forgives. Danish director Refn is one of the film world’s most upcoming directors and after his brutal yet brilliant interpretation of notorious British criminal Charles Bronson in his movie Bronson– this has lavish eye for detail has made him a cult favourite. But how will this follow up stand up to lovers of art based cinema?

Julian (Ryan Gosling) is a US ex pat living in Bangkok, Thailand who runs a Thai boxing gym as a front for his drug trafficking business. After his brother Billy (Tom Burke) is murdered for killing a 16 year old girl, it brings him to attention infamous police Lieutenant Chang (Vithaya Pansringarm) a man who truly believes he is the angel of death! The involvement of his long estranged mother Crystal is equally unwelcome and soon Julian is left fighting for his life in the face of true evil!

Only God Forgives is a very lavish and stunning visual feast for Winding Refn who through his neon lit corridors and rooms creates a world which looks the very definition of pure evil, and the contrasting colours work wonders for characterization as Chang is permanent stood under bright red lights, symbolizing his supernatural abilities, while Julian under cooler colours stands as the only thing approaching good in this movie.

But although this is well shot art piece, beneath it the overall result rings very hollow and the story is almost nonexistent and the constant pretty cinematography will baffle and frustrate many viewers! Refn seems to trip up on his own love of the obscure and seems intent of providing us with continuous picture perfect scenes to keep our eyes hooked throughout. The characters we are given are given limited explaination and it is only through monologues by Crystal that we get even a glimpse of the reasons why Julian is in Thailand and his relationship with Thai hooker Mai (Rhatha Phongam) is never given a moments explanation.

I understand the overall message that Refn is trying to give us, that this is about the conflict between good and evil and that Julian by confronting Chang is going into the very heart of darkness to avenge a man he truly disliked in real life. It’s just that the lack of linear story is immensely maddening and its Refn relentless flicking back and forth between odd scene such as Chang singing in a karaoke bar while he fellow cops watch in awe and an unexplained scene where Julian quietly watching Mai behind a beaded curtain. Also the very ambigious ending will leave people shaking their heads in disbelief as the showdown we have been craving comes and goes far too quickly.

Ryan Gosling looks the part of Julian and carries off the role with smouldering excellence and limited dialogue- problem is that is all he is really given to do throughout and spend most of the film sitting quietly and looking mysterious standing in dark hallways. Gosling is a man of talent, but although this role will go down as iconic- it doesn’t stretch him! Kristen Scott-Thomas is by far the stand out as his foul mouthed mother as she doesn’t even attempt to be heart warming to her son and instead continually berates his shortcomings compared to her favoured son Billy- this is a very different role and Scott-Thomas shows what an underrated actress she can be.

Vithaya Pansringarm will hold everyone’s attention as Chang and without using words he is able to conjure up a great sense of danger and as far as villains go- this one really is not to be messed with, if only for the sword he carries at all times!

Only God Forgives was a movie that promised a great deal when first shown to us, but I think you will not find a more polarised response to a movie throughout 2013!  Refn previous film Drive, explored similar ideas and overall this is a very beautiful movie and fans of Blu Ray are in for a treat, but beneath the lushness there lies a story waiting to be uncovered- on later viewings this may become clearer, but until then we will have to wait! Refn will return strong, I have no doubts as he is a director to pay attention to in years to come!