Movie Review(s): American Hustle & Inside Llewyn Davis (English)

American Hustle

Two movies, two different periods, but thematically brilliant and partly based on 'actual happenings', American Hustle and Inside Llweyn Davis offer compelling portraits of America in the 60's and 70's. Set in the city of New York, the films' share a sense of tragicomedy that underscores the lives of people aspiring to make big and their unexpected turn of circumstances, forcing them to rethink and reevaluate their options at hand.

From the very start of American Hustle, you pretty much get the idea of what's in store. Nothing is what it seems, and everyone has a hidden agenda. After all, everyone hustles to survive! Irving Rosenfield (a flabby Christian Bale) runs a legit dry-cleaning business but down beneath works as a con artist selling phony bank loans and forged paintings to earn quick bucks. Into his life enters the like-minded ex-stripper Sydney (Amy Adams) who improves upon his schemes to amass more money.

She becomes his paramour and all goes well until the duo is caught by an impatient and over-ambitious FBI agent Richie (Bradley Cooper) who coerces them into setting up an elaborate sting operation to nab corrupt politicians despite his boss's (a superb Louis C.K.) misgivings. Amidst all this madness, there's the much-loved Mayor Carmine (Jeremy Runner) who is prepared to go to any lengths to see his city flourish and Irving's zany and unpredictable loud-mouthed wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) who refuses to grant him a divorce because none in her family are divorced!

Inside Llewyn Davis

The eccentricity of the characters, their mood swings and their sexual tension comes alive thanks to the wonderful leads who light up the screen with electrifying performances. The fantastically hilarious (and outrageous) screenplay never for once flags and ably supported by a sound technical crew, the 70's styled American Hustle is one of the rare films where I literally laughed out loud as Irving's life gets thrown out of gear. Hustle up and don't miss it!

In contrast lies Coen Brothers' Inside Llewyn Davis. Bleak, devoid of hope - as much as the wintry landscape that forms the backdrop - and laced with liberal doses of dark humor, it's about a week in the life of a struggling folk singer Llweyn Davis in the early 60's. Sweating it out to make a name, Davis (Oscar Isaac) is yet to come to terms with the suicide of his musical partner Mike, and with the sagging sales of his album to top it all, he lives in abject penury and gets by subsisting on his friends' homes, sleeping on their couches.

Depressed and disillusioned with his career going nowhere, he also has to contend with the possibility that he might have gotten his friend's (singer Justin Timberlake in a cameo) girlfriend Jean (a delightful Carey Mulligan) pregnant. The much-needed solace in this musical-drama comes from the soul-stirring music, and when you hear Davis sing in the local pub, you can unmistakably feel his pain and more importantly his continuing string of disappointments. An intimate meditation of success and failure, Inside Llweyn Davis features a terrific performance from Oscar Isaac as the eponymous hero. He is the soul and heart of the film. Exceptionally narrated, moving and unforgettable, it will leave a lasting impression in your minds.