--- title: "American Hustle" year: 2013 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/american-hustle" fi1m_score: 72 critics_score: 78 critics_reviews: 23 published: "2026-09-20T07:40:11.286022+00:00" updated: "2026-09-20T07:40:11.804793+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # American Hustle (2013) Directed by David O. Russell · 2h 18m · MPA R · Drama, Crime **Fi1m score: 72** · Critics 78 from 23 reviews *In a sentence:* Everyone is lying, everyone is shouting, and the comb-over does the most honest work in the film > David O. Russell’s Abscam comedy is a loud, funny, over-dressed party with five actors having the time of their lives. It is a pleasure for ninety minutes and baggy after that, and the con at its centre never adds up. ## Synopsis New Jersey and New York, 1978. Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) owns a chain of dry cleaners and runs a sideline in forged art and loans that never arrive. At a pool party he meets Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), who reinvents herself as Lady Edith Greensly, an Englishwoman with banking connections in London, and together they take the con up a level. Then FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) catches Sydney taking a payment and offers a deal: help him make four bigger arrests and they walk. His first target is Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner), the mayor of Camden, who wants to rebuild Atlantic City’s casinos and needs money to do it. At home, Irving’s wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) is meant to know nothing, and knows more than that. ## Review The film opens with a caption, “Some of this actually happened”, and then with Christian Bale gluing a hairpiece to his scalp and combing his own hair across it. The comb-over gets three minutes and it is the best joke in *American Hustle*, because David O. Russell and his co-writer Eric Warren Singer make everything that follows a version of it. Irving Rosenfeld fakes loans, Sydney Prosser fakes an accent and a title, Richie DiMaso sleeps in curlers, and the mayor of Camden tells himself the casino money is clean. The story is built loosely on Abscam, the late-1970s FBI sting that used a fake sheikh to catch politicians taking bribes, and Russell treats the facts about as carefully as his characters treat the truth. The cast carries it for a long stretch. Bale plays Irving as a small, tired, oddly decent man who is good at one thing. Amy Adams’s Sydney is the centre of the film, a woman who has remade herself so often she has to check which version is talking, and Adams lets the English accent wobble whenever Sydney is frightened. Bradley Cooper plays Richie at the top of his lungs. Jeremy Renner gives Carmine Polito a pompadour and a warmth the film never mocks, and the scenes in which Irving starts to like him are the best-written in the picture. Then there is Jennifer Lawrence. Rosalyn Rosenfeld is a housewife who will not divorce her husband, will not stop talking, and calls their new microwave the “science oven”. Lawrence plays her at a pitch nobody else attempts: she is on screen for twenty-five minutes and takes every one of them. We laughed out loud, which we rarely do at something this obviously engineered, when she puts a foil dish in the oven, watches it catch fire and blames Irving for buying it. The laugh is all in Lawrence’s face, which is furious and not remotely sorry. Linus Sandgren shoots it in browns and golds and keeps pushing the camera in on faces mid-sentence, so the actors seem to be improvising even when they are not. Judy Becker’s production design is wood panelling, shag carpet and hotel gilt. Michael Wilkinson’s costumes do the hardest work: Adams’s dresses are cut to the navel and Sydney wears them like a uniform, while Cooper gets a leather jacket and a chest medallion. Danny Elfman wrote a score and we could not tell you what it sounds like, because the film is wall to wall with period songs, several cut in so loudly they replace the scene rather than sit under it. The three editors, Alan Baumgarten, Crispin Struthers and Jay Cassidy, had a hard job. The film is narrated in turn by Irving, Sydney and Richie, jumps back to explain itself, then jumps forward, and for the first hour the cutting keeps pace. After that it does not. Richie’s operation, the sheikh, the bribes, the hotel suites, keeps getting bigger without getting clearer, and somewhere past the hundred-minute mark we realised we had stopped following who was conning whom and, worse, had stopped minding. At 138 minutes it is twenty too long. Russell’s previous two films, [*The Fighter*](https://film.one/film/the-fighter) and [*Silver Linings Playbook*](https://film.one/film/silver-linings-playbook), were about loud people shouting past each other, and this is looser than either. The usual comparison is with Scorsese, and it holds for the tracking shots and the song cues, but Scorsese’s films know what the story is for. This one is about the pleasure of watching good actors mess about in costume, and that does not fill the running time. Louis C.K., as Richie’s exhausted boss Stoddard Thorsen, gets the best running gag, a story about ice fishing with his brother that he is never allowed to finish, and it is the only scene that knows when to stop. See it for the cast, and for Lawrence above all, and go in knowing the story will not pay off the way a con should. It is a 15 certificate, mainly for the language. Watch it with a drink and people who will not ask you what is going on, because by the end you will not be able to tell them. *Fi1m score 72, published 20 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews lean firmly positive: twenty of the twenty-three approve and none dislikes it. Most critics treat it as a screwball comedy brought back to life, with David O. Russell letting his cast loose and the cast repaying him. Jennifer Lawrence is named most often as the one who steals it; Amy Adams is close behind, with several critics calling this some of her best work, and Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper get their share. The 1970s period detail, and the hair in particular, comes up in nearly every review. The reservations cluster on discipline and depth. Several find it overlong and loose, the plot losing its way amid its own trickery. Sight and Sound thinks it never delivers a clever con payoff; Collider finds the performances never add up to anything meaningful; The Skinny objects to the period songs on the soundtrack. The spread is narrow: even the coolest reviews enjoy the ensemble, and the disagreement is over whether there is anything underneath the showmanship. ### Reviews we read (23) - **Film Comment**, Scott Foundas (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it a feast of a movie, an uncorked entertainment full of energy and actorly invention. He singles out Amy Adams' quietly spellbinding performance as a woman losing her sense of self amid the deceptions. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/blog/review-american-hustle-david-o-russell/) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney (90/100, inferred): The critic praises the film as an outrageously entertaining con-job chronicle with invigorating ensemble performances and playful humor. They single out the zesty cast often playing against type and the director's character-driven storytelling for praise. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/american-hustle-film-review-660832/) - **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis (NYT Critic’s Pick): The critic praises the film as a reinvigorated screwball comedy driven by fast, hilarious dialogue and strong performances, especially from the female leads. She singles out the central con-artist romance and ensemble chemistry for making the Abscam-inspired story entertaining and character-focused. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/13/movies/american-hustle-with-christian-bale-and-amy-adams.html) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (85/100, inferred): The critic describes the film as a brazen, nerve-jangling and irresistibly watchable black comedy full of jittery backtalk and wacky hair. He singles out the sustained riffing from director David O. Russell and the eye-popping commitment of the lead performances for particular praise. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/dec/19/american-hustle-review) - **The New Yorker**, David Denby (85/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a series of astonishments and a generous, big-hearted comedy about corruption and loyalty with pell-mell storytelling. He singles out the volatile, heightened energy and the cast’s committed performances, especially the con-artist leads, as what makes it feel alive and impressive. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/12/16/grand-scam) - **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (80/100, inferred): The critic describes the film as a dizzying, outlandishly entertaining 21st-century screwball farce that is big-hearted and off the wall. He singles out director David O. Russell’s affinity for edgy American madness and the cast’s ability to disappear into their roles as the key strengths. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2013-dec-12-la-et-mn-american-hustle-20131213-story.html) - **Radio Times**, Damon Wise (4/5): The critic describes it as an intelligent, self-aware character piece that uses its cast to create an adult pantomime of shifting allegiances, with the women, particularly Jennifer Lawrence, providing the substance and stealing the show. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-pg9nv6/american-hustle/) - **The Independent** (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's slick, tricksy narrative and its successful blend of real human drama and psychology with glitzy showmanship and period detail. It is compared favourably to a mainstream Scorsese comedy but noted as secretly more depressing than it appears. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/american-hustle-review-a-film-about-false-appearances-vanity-and-cons-9015441.html) - **Time Out**, Guy Lodge (4/5): The review praises Russell's ability to infuse Hollywood formulae with his chaotic sensibility, highlighting the film's focus on character and milieu over plot, and especially Jennifer Lawrence's extraordinary performance as the standout element. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/american-hustle) - **Vulture**, David Edelstein (80/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a high-energy, actor-liberating mess that outdoes Scorsese in style while focusing on con artists and self-interest. They single out the performances, especially Jennifer Lawrence's comic turn, for praise. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2013/12/movie-review-american-hustle.html) - **Empire**, Kim Newman (75/100, inferred): The critic commends the brilliant acting, dazzling scene-by-scene entertainment and vivid evocation of the 1970s era and hairstyles. It is seen as a showcase rather than a truly great film, with the plot losing focus amid its own trickery. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/american-hustle-review/) - **Variety**, Justin Chang (75/100, inferred): The critic finds the film deliriously funny and brilliantly acted, a big-hearted human comedy with screwball variations on a dazzling ’70s backdrop. He singles out the cast’s returnees (especially Jennifer Lawrence) and Russell’s farce direction while noting it is overlong and undisciplined. [Read](https://variety.com/2013/film/reviews/american-hustle-review-1200907269/) - **Screen Daily** (70/100, inferred): The review calls it a briskly entertaining caper and thoughtful examination of reinvention that also works as a tricky love story, with Amy Adams delivering some of her best work as a key highlight. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/american-hustle/5064255.article) - **Sight and Sound**, Kate Stables (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a gloriously assured but ultimately surface-skimming comedy that excels in its character performances and period detail but lacks a truly clever con payoff. She singles out the strong ensemble acting, particularly Amy Adams and Christian Bale, for praise. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-american-hustle) - **Slant Magazine**, Jesse Cataldo (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a manic, surprisingly entertaining farce that works through its messy, farcical approach despite familiar flaws. They single out the energetic style and script for making the chaotic con-artist tale satisfying. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/american-hustle/) - **Evening Standard** (65/100, inferred): The review highlights the dynamic direction, strong performances (especially Jennifer Lawrence), and authentic Seventies style and music as major strengths. It criticises the film for being overlong, self-satisfied and too explicit in its themes of deception. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/american-hustle-film-review-9017594.html) - **Eye for Film**, Anne-Katrin Titze (85/100, inferred): The irradiant cast fashions a funny, sexy, stylish spectacle of truth with timeless insights into politics and relationships. Bradley Cooper's madcap performance is singled out as the finest of his career amid vivid period details and strong turns from Bale, Adams, and Lawrence. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/american-hustle-2013-film-review-by-anne-katrin-titze) - **The Playlist**, The Playlist Staff (B+): The film is a virtuoso but not quite great effort that emphasizes emotional dynamics over crime mechanics in its 1970s con story. Strong ensemble performances, particularly from Adams and Lawrence, are singled out amid mostly compelling characters and story. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/review-david-o-russells-delirious-virtuoso-american-hustle-with-christian-bale-amy-adams-more-20131213/) - **Den of Geek**, Don Kaye (4/5): The critic finds the film fun, sharply written, endlessly energetic and perfectly acted, with a stellar cast. He notes that by fictionalizing the real Abscam events it lessens their power but still praises the overall execution. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/american-hustle-review/) - **/Film**, David Chen (80/100, inferred): It is one of Russell's best films, an intoxicating mix of love triangles, grifting, and amazing hair. Christian Bale's lead performance is singled out as marvelous and a highlight. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/529291/american-hustle-two-minute-spoiler-free-video-review/) - **Digital Spy**, Ben Rawson-Jones (75/100, inferred): The critic describes it as a funny, thrilling and compelling film with excellent performances, especially from Bale and Lawrence. He praises the energy and exploration of deception but criticizes the overly convenient, rushed finale. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a539160/american-hustle-review-bale-and-lawrence-excel-in-thrilling-tale/) - **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (C+): The film is often amusing but rarely audacious, with strong performances that fail to cohere into something meaningful or insightful. It singles out the cast's chemistry and playful 1970s tone for praise while criticizing the lack of control and thematic depth. [Read](https://collider.com/american-hustle-review/) - **The Skinny**, Josh Slater-Williams (★★★): The critic enjoys the frequently hilarious fun of watching the neurotic cast clash and fall, calling the ensemble mostly excellent. He notes the film is unwieldy at times and criticizes the distracting use of era songs on the soundtrack. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/american-hustle) ## Details - **Director:** David O. Russell - **Director:** David O. Russell - **Writer:** David O. Russell, Eric Warren Singer - **Cinematography:** Linus Sandgren - **Editor:** Crispin Struthers, Jay Cassidy, Alan Baumgarten - **Music:** Danny Elfman - **Production design:** Judy Becker - **Costume design:** Michael Wilkinson - **Producer:** Charles Roven, Megan Ellison, Richard Suckle - **Cast:** Christian Bale as Irving Rosenfeld; Bradley Cooper as Richie DiMaso; Amy Adams as Sydney Prosser; Jeremy Renner as Mayor Carmine Polito; Jennifer Lawrence as Rosalyn Rosenfeld; Louis C.K. as Stoddard Thorsen; Jack Huston as Pete Musane; Michael Peña as Paco Hernandez / Sheik Abdullah - **Runtime:** 2h 18m - **Certificate (MPA):** R - **Release (the US):** 20 December 2013 - **Genres:** Drama, Crime - **Also in:** [Best Picture winners](https://film.one/collections/oscar-best-picture.md) (Nominee, 2013); [BAFTA Best Film winners](https://film.one/collections/bafta-best-film.md) (Nominee, 2013); [Golden Globe Best Musical or Comedy winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-comedy.md) (Winner, 2013) - **Budget:** $40 million - **Box office:** $251 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5Cb4SFt7gE ## Where to watch in the US - Tubi: free, hd, leaving 2026-10-01 - Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $7.99, uhd - Apple TV: buy $7.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-20.* Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, HU, ID, IE, IT, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, RS, SE, SG, TH, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 2014: Best Actor (nominated); Best Actress (nominated); Best Costume Design (nominated); Best Director (nominated); Best Film Editing (nominated); Best Picture (nominated); Best Production Design (nominated); Best Supporting Actor (nominated); Best Supporting Actress (nominated); Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated) ## If you liked this - *The Sting* (1973), Fi1m 85: The con film this one wants to be, with a payoff that actually pays. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-sting.md) - *House of Games* (1987): Mamet’s grifters talk in clipped sentences and every one of them is a trap. - *Nine Queens* (2000): Two Buenos Aires hustlers, one day, one stamp, and not a wasted minute. - *Boogie Nights* (1997), Fi1m 86: Seventies hair, period songs and a big cast, held together by a director who knows why. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/boogie-nights.md) - *The Grifters* (1990), Fi1m 84: Anjelica Huston and John Cusack as a con-artist mother and son; colder, shorter, sharper. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-grifters.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/american-hustle