Full disclosure: I did not like the 80'S. I didn't like the fashion, the music, and most especially the movies. I didn't like watching all the excess of drugs, parties, sex and capitalism. So, The Wolf of Wall Street was difficult for me to get into. It was a couple hours of me thinking, "Not these assholes, again!" I kept wondering if everyone watching felt that way or if this was specific to my allergy to the '80s. I appreciated that Martin Scorcese was not glorifying the actions of these self-destructive greed-whores, but even so, there were still a lot of lines of cocaine on and in the bodies of prostitutes. Boring!
It took a few days before I found myself thinking back fondly on scenes from the film, and I realized I had enjoyed the film, despite my allergies. The acting was great, the style of story-telling was as bare and brazen as ever, the cleverness of The Wolf was echoed in the directing in lovely ways. Scorcese's film-making always has "punch". I have to love that.
Coincidentally, somehow the billboards for American Hustle called to mind a Scorcese film. All that 1970's hair work seemed to promise in your face film-making. I was waiting edgy choices and cinematic style to spare. I forgot that this is not Russell's game. I felt the first act of the movie was so slow! I kept waiting for something to really get cooking. I had to remember to have patience because sometimes a good story takes time. It was important for me to be invested in the relationship between Amy Adams and Christian Bale or else I would never know how much they were risking later in the film.
So here are two films with bold, flawed characters who are trying and failing, at life and success and comb-overs. In the Wolf of Wall Street, there is nary a soul with redeeming qualities. In American Hustle the characters manage to alternately earn my scorn and empathy. If I have to choose, I'll go with the film that allows me to like its characters, even if it is in spite of myself. The '70s win!
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