t***r
发帖数: 370 | 1 Watched it, liked it a lot, and wrote a review of it.
I couldn't pinpoint why I like it. Maybe you guys can help me out :D
=============================================================
I happened to have watched American Hustle and Wolf of Wall Street in
one weekend. They do have a lot in common. Both have long lines at the movie
theater. Both stories actually happened. Both involve swindles. Both
protagonists rise from lowly pedigree. Both thriving professional lives are
signed off by FBI. Both stories are about American reinvention, self-
reinvention, deception, and self-deception. But there is one key difference:
the self-consciousness about their make-believe persona. You always need
that bit of a twist to make it tingle. Wolf of Wall Street lacks that twist.
American Hustle is not about a con, the techniques to make a con
successful, but about a conman, who is fully aware of his own limitedness,
from which he bootstraps his new persona, but don’t whole-heartedly buy his
own self-invention either, therefore ending up in an eternal survival mode.
His confidence, his showmanship, and his hyperbolic style are not the cream
on the top, but a crutch underneath. Christian Bale’s acting so nicely
captures this, especially the opening scene of him setting up his hair. The
opening scene is actually my personal favorite. The close-up shot reveals
the truth underneath: a toupee carefully put under his comb-over. The finish
seems rather elaborate, or, exquisite, I would say. But you don’t want to
know what’s underneath it. What an excellent metaphor that sums up the gist
of a con! Bale’s acting tops the exquisite finish with a necessary layer
of irony. He is extremely careful when applying glue to attach the hair
piece, tapping lightly to fixate it. The delicate hand gesture reminds me of
a virtuoso pianist’s fingers caressing the keyboard when playing Schubert
’s D960. With a toupee, like a talisman, safely tucked under his hair,
Irving Rosenfeld has finished the transformation, more than ready to go on
the battle field (or dance court) of con-art-marking.
But, all the ridicule aside, there is actually something laudable about
Irvine. Everyone in the movie is somewhat delusional, except Irving. The FBI
agent (Bradley Cooper) is desperate in striving to make a name for himself,
to hold the whip in his office, stretching his actual capability so hard
that it barely covers the feet of the heroic man he imagines himself to be.
But he at least shares one thing with Irvine: the desperate need for a
transformation and self-reinvention. Irvine’s wife (Jennifer Lawrence) is
even more hilarious, whom the word “delusional” could hardly fit because
she is beyond delusional. The scene where Irvine came back from almost being
killed by the mafia guy she fell for precisely summarizes her state of
beyond delusional. As Irvine was ranting about how her sweet love talk with
the mafia guy almost cost his life, she cried: “why can’t you be happy for
me?” Sister, you really don’t know what is going on.
Irvine’s soul mate, Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) is delusional too, but
her delusion resonates with Irvine’s. Everyone else’s delusion is about a
cause, something external to self, be it professional triumph (Bradley
Cooper), domestic love (Jennifer Lawrence), or political or monetary success
(other politicians and the mafia). But Sydney and Irvine’s delusion is
fundamentally about themselves. Both of them were born into a situation that
they don’t like, and both of them tried very hard to outgrow it: e.g.
feeding and raising the new self upon Duke Ellington. Although the endeavor
is precarious, they found each other.
Irvine, despite all the unexpected twists and turns, still tries to
remain sane about something so fundamental to everyone: e.g. friendship,
fathership, and manages to execute a con that eventually exculpates his
lover and himself. Most of all, he is always vigilant about when he would
exceed his limits. (Maybe the thing that moved me is the awareness of one's
limits and the prudence of not going beyond it even when in predicament?
Something honorable about it, which I couldn't verbalize.) He is crystal
clear about who he is, a conartist, no more, no less. The self-consciousness
keeps everything under control, just like the small laundry shop he runs,
not of luxury, but equipped with everything necessary. He is always unsure,
and scared, deep down. If there is one thing he firmly believes in is that
one day the whole thing will be busted. He is just unsure when the judgment
day will come. So he hustles, hustling up just to make ends meet, to make
patches. If there is one thing I could recall after one year of seeing this
movie, it will be Bale’s depiction of Irvine’s predicament, his fear, and
the way he hustles to survive.
Last but not least, American Hustle is a much more innocent world.
A dialogue from the scene where Irving Rosenfeld first met his soul mate
Sydney Prosser:
"Is that Duke Ellington on your bracelet?" Irving Rosenfeld asks.
"As a matter of fact it is. He died this year, you know?" Sydney Prosser
responds.
"I know. I doubt anyone else here knows or cares about it," he said
"Well, I care about it. He's saved my life many times," she said.
"Mine too. Which one?
"Jeep's Blues," she said. | P*****s
发帖数: 2150 | 2 写的真好阿，很多GRE词汇 ：）
分析的也好
movie
【在 t***r 的大作中提到】
: Watched it, liked it a lot, and wrote a review of it.
: I couldn't pinpoint why I like it. Maybe you guys can help me out :D
: =============================================================
: I happened to have watched American Hustle and Wolf of Wall Street in
: one weekend. They do have a lot in common. Both have long lines at the movie
: theater. Both stories actually happened. Both involve swindles. Both
: protagonists rise from lowly pedigree. Both thriving professional lives are
: signed off by FBI. Both stories are about American reinvention, self-
: reinvention, deception, and self-deception. But there is one key difference:
: the self-consciousness about their make-believe persona. You always need
| t***r
发帖数: 370 | 3 thank you~
Do you like this movie?
【在 P*****s 的大作中提到】
: 写的真好阿，很多GRE词汇 ：）
: 分析的也好
:
: movie
| P*****s
发帖数: 2150 | 4 我外行哈，觉得闹哄哄的挺好玩。有一点黑色幽默，玩世不恭。
【在 t***r 的大作中提到】
: thank you~
: Do you like this movie?
|
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