American Hustle is a 2013 American romantic crime thriller directed by David O. Russell and produced by Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison and Jonathan Gordon. The screenplay was written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell.
Rated: R (movie contains pervasive language, some sexual content and brief violence)
Run Time: 2h 18min
Release Date: December 20, 2013 (USA)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Director: David O. Russell
Studio: Sony Pictures Releasing and Columbia Pictures
Budget: $40 Million
Box Office: $251.2 Million
American Hustle stars Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, Louis C.K., Robert De Niro, Jack Huston, Michael Peña, Elisabeth Röhm and Anthony Zerbe.
American Hustle tells the story of Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale), a brilliant con man who operated a dry cleaning business as his legitimate business while behind the scenes he dabbles in loan-sharking and forgery. When Irving meets Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), there is an instant emotional connection. Both of them come from humble backgrounds, but are both striving for a better life. Irving tells Sydney about his illegal sideline as a con artist, but to his surprise she is not repulsed but rather attracted to the fact. The two embark on a sexual relationship, despite the fact that Irving is already married to the brash and uncultured Rosalyn Rosenfeld (Jennifer Lawrence).
Irving deals with loan scams which typically net him about $5,000 but Sydney believes she can help his scams by pretending to be British Lady Edith Greensley who has London banking connections. In doing so, she does indeed vastly improve the bottom line of their take. However, one of their targets ends up being Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper), an undercover FBI agent who catches them red-handed in their con. As a way to get out of serving time, DiMaso forces them to work under cover as part of a sting operation headed by DiMaso to nail New Jersey Mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner). In the meantime, Irving’s jealous wife Rosalyn gets involved and may be the one to bring everyone’s world crashing down. American Hustle is a fictional film based on the 1970s Abscam case which was one of the most stunning scandals to rock our nation.
Movie Quotes
“You’re nothing to me ’til you’re everything.” – Sydney Prosser
“I told you not to put metal in the science oven.” – Irving Rosenfeld
“The art of survival is a story that never ends.” – Irving Rosenfeld
“It’s the crazy thing about people. The more you say no, the more they want in on something. It is so stupid.” – Irving Rosenfeld
“That’s the way the world works. Not black and white, like you say. Extremely gray.” – Irving Rosenfeld
Official Movie Trailer
Movie Stars
Christian Bale as Irving Rosenfeld
Amy Adams as Sydney Prosser
Bradley Cooper as Richie DiMaso
Jennifer Lawrence as Rosalyn Rosenfeld
Jeremy Renner as Mayor Carmine Polito
Louis C.K. as Stoddard Thorsen
Robert De Niro as Victor Tellegio
Jack Huston as Pete Musane
Michael Peña as Paco Hernandez / Sheik Abdullah
Elisabeth Röhm as Dolly Polito
Anthony Zerbe as Senator Horton Mitchell
Rated: PG