American Hustle, an American black comedy classic, was released in the year 2013. The crime/drama-based movie was inspired by the FBI operation in the late 1970s. The cast was selectively handpicked, keeping in mind the genre of the movie.
The movie was a fictional Abscam of the FBI directed by David O. Russell and written by Eric Warren Singer and Russell. American Hustle is set largely in cities such as New York and New Jersey. Only a few scenes were set in Worcester, a city in Massachusetts.
Why Was The Operation In The Film Called Abscam?
American Hustle is taken from a true story where the FBI sting operation was nicknamed Abscam. The name was given as a diminution to Abdul Scam. It refers to the fraudulent company, Abdul Enterprises, set up by the FBI.
The sting operation lasted for approximately two years. The main purpose of this entire sting was to target underground figures trafficking stolen art.
As shown in the film American Hustle, the FBI agents set up the phony company to fool officials suspected of corruption. All the undercover agents were involved in Abscam representing wealthy Arab Sheikhs of the oil. These agents arrived at meetings with corrupted officials, including politicians and other mafias, with suitcases full of cash to bribe them.
They attempted to trick the members of Congress into granting them to run an Atlantic casino license, among other things in the U.S. The investigation was a complete success but brought in other problems. As a result, the criminals dealing in fake stocks and bonds were introduced to the FBI agents.
American Hustle
American Hustle was a total success, and it received praise and recognition worldwide. It received several awards, including three BAFTA Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. It also received ten nominations at the 86th Academy Awards.
The cast includes famous personalities such as Christian Bale, Jennifer Lawrence, and Bradley Cooper as the FBI agent Richie DiMaso.
1. Christian Bale
American Hustle stars Christian Bale as Irving Rosenfeld based on Mel Weinberg, an American con artist popularly known for his involvement in the world-famous sting, Abscam. Christian Charles Philip Bale, popularly known as Christian Bale, is an English Actor. Bale is known for his extreme physical transformations to play varied genres in his films.
Born in 1974, this British actor was listed among the 100 most influential people in the world in 2011. He is also a recipient of two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award.
In the film American Hustle, Christian Bale plays the role of a con artist forced by an FBI agent Bradley Cooper to set up the sting. He was utterly unrecognizable after gaining a total of 43 pounds. He needed to achieve that much weight to be a part. Also, Christian Bale is known for his physical transformations so shedding and gaining weight was not such a big deal for him.
2. Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper is an American actor and filmmaker born in the year 1975. Cooper plays the role of the FBI agent Richie DiMaso in the film American Hustle. His role was based on a real person involved in the Abscam sting operation.
Bradley Cooper closely resembled an FBI agent Anthony Amoroso, Jr., in American hustle. He forces Irving Rosenfeld to join the sting, which resembles Anthony’s supervising Mel Weinberg in the sting. But, in reality, Anthony Amoroso did not meet Mel Weinberg until his deal with the FBI was confirmed.
Cooper is a nominee for several prestigious awards such as the Eighth Academy Awards and Tony Awards, including two Grammy Awards and a BAFTA Award (that he won). Bradley Cooper was also among the Fobes Celebrity 100 thrice and Time’s list of 100 most influential people in the world in 2015. He also has been ranked annually to be among the world’s highest-paid actors four times.
3. Amy Adams
Amy Lou Adams, popularly known as Amy Adams, is an American actress who gained much popularity as part of the American hustle cast. Born in 1974, this gorgeous actress has annual rankings to be among the world’s highest-paid actresses. She is also a recipient of several accolades, including the Screen Actors Guild Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Amy Adams has also been a nominee for the Academy and British Academy Film Awards six and seven times, respectively.
In the movie American Hustle, Amy Adams plays the role of Sydney Prosser or Lady Edith Greensly representing Evelyn Knight. Evelyn Knight was another con artist known for her involvement in the Abscam of the FBI. She is asked to be a part of the sting with her ex-husband Mel Weinberg (Irving Rosenfeld) as she would be a resourceful person throughout the sting.
4. Jennifer Lawrence
We can see that almost the entire cast is surrounded by some of the highest-paid actors in the world. Jennifer Lawrence also counts among them and has been on the list for 2015 and 2016. She has also appeared in Time’s list of 100 most influential people in the world in 2013 and the Forbes Celebrity 100 list from 2013 to 2016.
In the movie American Hustle, Jennifer Lawrence plays the role of Rosalyn Rosenfeld. Rosalyn Rosenfeld resembles Marie Weinberg in her involvement in the sting operation led by the FBI, Abscam. In American Hustle, she plays the role of Christian Bale’s wife.
5. Jeremy Lee Renner
Jeremy Lee Renner is an American actor born in the year 1971. Renner began her career with independent films and appeared in supporting roles in bigger ones. She has also been a nominee for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Hurt Locker and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Town.
He has made an extraordinary contribution playing the role of the Mayor, Carmine Polito. The position resembles a natural person involved in the Abscam, Angelo Errichetti.
Angelo Errichetti
Angelo Joseph Errichetti is an ex-American politician. He served as the Mayor of Camden, New Jersey, and in the New Jersey Senate before being indicted during the Abscam. His career and power ended after being caught in the Congressional corruption scandal. Errichetti served in prison for nearly three years and then died soon after on May 16.
Mayor was broadly popular for not raising taxes due to the city’s low-income population. Hence, he was re-elected with more than 80% votes. He was among the most renowned politicians and most influential ones, but the scandal brought an end to his power.
Abscam, the American sting operation by the FBI, lasted for two long years and helped show all the true faces of corrupt officials. Mr Mayor was caught red-handed on hidden cameras serving as an intermediary between Pennsylvania congressman Michael J. Myers and undercover agents posing as Arabs.
Errichetti was sentenced to six years in prison for bribery and served 32 months. Before he became a politician, he worked in real estate and insurance. He was a hardworking man who took night classes at Rutgers University and played football at Camden High School. But, only had he not been into bribery, he would have remained the public persona he was.
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Other Important Casts
- Louis C.K. as Stoddard Thorsen
- Jack Huston as Pete Musane
- Michael Peña as Paco Hernandez / Sheikh Abdullah
- Elisabeth Röhm as Dolly Polito
- Danny Corbo as Danny Rosenfeld
- Sonny Corbo as Danny Rosenfeld
- Shea Whigham as Carl Elway
- Alessandro Nivola as Anthony Amado
- Paul Herman as Alfonse Simone
- Saïd Taghmaoui as Irv’s Sheik Plant
- Adrian Martinez as Julius
- Colleen Camp as Brenda
- Dawn Olivieri as Cosmo Girl
- Erica McDermott as Carl Elway’s Assistant
- Robert De Niro as Victor Tellegio (uncredited cameo)
Mel Weinberg
Mel Weinberg has always lived a life of delinquency before his capture. As a student, he stole gold stars from his teacher’s desk to show his mother what an excellent student Mel was. Post the stealing at school. He continued doing so in one way or the other.
Beginning with delinquency as a juvenile, Mel Weinberg committed large-scale crimes as an adult. He continued getting richer and richer with his well-planned insurance frauds and many investment scams. Once Mel went out shooting windows with his slingshot all around the town in a Cadillac when his father’s business was lost.
Mel was a happy person enjoying his scandals until the FBI got hold of him for operating a bogus international banking and investment firm, London Investors, out of a furnished leased office in Melville, Long Island. He was arrested along with his mistress Evelyn Knight and then indicated by a federal jury.
Mel Weinberg’s Deal With The FBI
Mel Weinberg was paid for helping the FBI. Not only was he saved from the three-year jail sentence, but he also stated a total of 150,000 dollars of taxpayers’ money for helping the FBI lead a successful sting operation.
The FBI agent John God, who was in charge of the Abscam, was the person who made the deal with Mel Weinberg. He agreed to do so in exchange for keeping himself and his mistress out of prison. He was only introduced to Abscam after he helped win the other four cases that the real deal was about.
As told by Mel Weinberg himself to the reporters, he stayed on with the FBI for the Abscam only because of the money they were providing. There was no sense of patriotism or fear involved.
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American Hustle: A Work Of Fiction
The filmmakers mainly included “This is a work of fiction” as a disclaimer in the closing credits of the movie. Although it was a real story with characters resembling real people involved in the Abscam, their names were changed, including a few scenes as well. Thus, they call it a work of pictures informing that some scenes in the film happened during this historic American scandal.
It is a re-imagination of comedy-drama. As it is a film, the characters have been exaggerated and their personalities have been altered to make it more interesting. Also, all the characters have been shown as young, but in reality, the persons were quite old than shown.
Final Note
American Hustle is a classic David O Russell movie. In my opinion, the film may not be for everyone. If you are someone who enjoys some offbeat drama, you can give it a try. The entire cast is great and has done complete justice to the comedy-drama part.
The movie succeeded mostly because of its real scandal touch, making things more interesting because people believed the things they see in the movie happened in real life. Some parts of it, including the story base, are completely true. You can give it a try. Besides, the entire cast did a great job in the movie. Starting from direction to filmmaking, as well as the acting was superb.
American hustle has long been in the eye of the critics, making it worldwide popular. The movie puts forward quite a seedy story. It entirely depends on the taste and choice of the person watching the film, if or not he is going to give a good review.
Last Updated on by Sathi Chakraborty, MSc Biology
