Golden Globe Best Picture showing soon

MANILA, Philippines - The predictions have just turned out right. David Russel’s American Hustle got its well-deserved Best Picture award, under the Comedy/Musical category, at the recently concluded Golden Globe Awards. It was also a victorious moment for its leading ladies, Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence, who were named Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively. The film boasts of four other Golden Globe nominations, such as Best Actor for Christian Bale, Best Supporting Actor for Bradley Cooper, Best Screenplay and Best Director. Now an Oscar frontrunner, the sensational con movie has 10 nominations at the British Academy of Film Television Awards (BAFTA). 

Early on, movie critics have already voiced their acclaims for this “fearless piece of American cinema,” as Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood called it, while Richard Roeper wrote in Chicago Sun-Times that it is “as perfect a film as it gets... so filled with the joy of expert filmmaking on every level I can’t imagine anyone who loves movies not loving this movie.”

In The Playlist, Rodrigo Perez remarked that “the picture is funny, engaging, but also holds true and meaningful emotional stakes.” Todd McCarthey of The Hollywood Reporter exclaimed, “The actors hit all sorts of new and unfamiliar notes. In a year graced by many first-rate ensemble cast, this may have the best of them.” Director Russel is not left wanting for extolment as Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly insisted that “(he) has become the most exciting filmmaker in America.”  

American Hustle, a story about reinvention and survival, revolves around small-time hustlers Irving Rosenfeld (Bale) and his lover Sydney Prosser (Adams) who are forced into a sting operation by FBI Agent Richie Dimaso (Cooper) to expose and catch corrupt government officials, like Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner).  Irving’s background includes having a father who is extremely honest, but mercilessly taken advantage of, so he vows not to let that happen to him. Exuding great confidence, he captures the heart of Sydney, who is filled with insecurities despite her beauty. As a con artist, she is able to project her fantasies of who she wants to be. Meanwhile, Dimaso, who becomes seduced by the glamour of their world, works on reinventing himself as well. His personal agenda complicate things even more for Irving and Sydney, who must also face Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence), Irving’s legal wife, as she maneuvers to bring them all down. 

Inspired by the Abscam scandal in America in the late ’70s where a senator and several congressmen were convicted, the film successfully captures the look and feel of the era with its set design, music selections and the costume and make-up of the characters. 

American Hustle opens Feb. 5 in theaters nationwide.