American Hustle

Already attracting awards buzz and with seven Golden Globe nominations to its name, David O. Russell’s American Hustle is one of the early showers from this year’s awards season. Set in the late 1970s and making use of an ensemble cast plucked from his most recent productions, the film is set in the world of an experienced and successful con artist called Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale). Irving and his partner Sydney (Amy Adams) are caught by cocksure and ambitious FBI Agent Richard DiMasso (Bradley Cooper) who offers immunity in exchange for help in capturing more prized targets.

The plot isn’t a strong area of American Hustle which is why I’m surprised its screenplay has received many of the film’s plaudits. Although it spirals seemingly uncontrollably into deeper recesses of confusion, subterfuge and double cross, it features a sagging belly larger than that sported by Bale and drags on for too long before reaching its always expected conclusion. The movie’s strengths lie elsewhere, primarily in the design and acting, two areas for which the film deserves all the plaudits its being given.

Silver Linings Playbook

Patrick (Bradley Cooper), recently diagnosed with bi-polar is released from a psychiatric hospital eight months after nearly beating a man to death for sleeping with his wife. He arrives home to find that his superstitious father (Robert De Niro) has lost his job and is making money as a bookmaker on American Football games. Patrick is desperate to reconnect with his wife despite their problems and a restraining order and soon falls in with a friend of a friend called Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) who promises to get a letter to Patrick’s wife in exchange for help in a dance competition.

I had no interest in seeing Silver Linings Playbook, especially after my girlfriend saw it and gave a one word review of “meh-umm-yeah”. A friend of mine though said it was excellent and it’s popping up in awards nominations and best of lists so I thought I should check it out. If the film gets anywhere near any major awards for anything other than acting, I will be shocked. The film is average at best but flourishes due to some great acting performances which start at the leads and extend right down to the secondary and tertiary characters.

Like Crazy

"I just have to say one thing and it's really important that you just listen to me. I just... "

Like Crazy is a 2011 Romantic Drama in which two young students fall in love but get torn apart by problems with immigration. Anna (Felicity Jones) is studying Journalism at college in L.A. on a student visa when she meets and falls in love with Jacob (Anton Yelchin). The two begin a heartfelt and romantic relationship during which Anna overstays her visa. After returning briefly to the UK for a Wedding she is denied re-entry to the US and is forcibly deported. The couple then struggle to maintain a relationship or even a friendship over a distance of several thousand miles and discover that the time and distance is not the only thing that is capable of keeping them apart.

This film produced a flurry of emotions from me. During the first act I kept saying “awww” as it is incredibly cute. The two actors felt like a very realistic and sweet couple and reminded me of being in the first throws of love. By the second act I was screaming at the US Immigration Officials and then ended up telling the central characters off, even though I’m about 80% sure they couldn’t hear me. The film goes up and down, in and out, backwards and forwards, roundabout and back again and I went with it every step of the way.