. The FBI investigating the theft accidentally discovered a large number of illegal official corruption. After a series of investigations, one member of the Senate, six members of the House of Representatives, one from New Jersey, one from Philadelphia, and one immigration officer were convicted. The case caused a huge sensation at the time, not only because of the corruption of such a large number of elected officials for the first time in American history, but also because of the FBI's use of undercover agents in investigative operations without a bottom line and a large number of fishing law enforcement actions. Under pressure from public opinion, after the completion of the judicial proceedings in this case, the then US Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti issued the "U.S. Department of Justice Guidelines on FBI Undercover Operations" specifically for such cases, which clearly stipulates The judicial rules and procedures that FBI agents should follow when conducting undercover investigations.
Director David O. Russell adapted the new film "American Scam" based on this story, which was officially released in the Christmas file of the North American Film Market in 2013. After the 2010 film "Fighter" and the 2012 film "The Line of Happiness Behind the Dark Clouds" received double recognition at the box office, director David O. Russell from New York won both commercial box office and audience reputation. Great appeal. And this film "American Hoax" starred by Christian Bell, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Jeremy Renner, there is no doubt that from the beginning of production It drew the appetites of film critics and audiences.
However, unlike the previous two films, the fluent narrative style is different, the beginning of the film "American Hoax" is very meticulous and patient (and almost with interest) describing the protagonist played by Bell, Irving, patiently and meticulously sorting out his "places". The bald scene of "supporting the center": wigs, combs, glue, hairspray, everything is available. In the film, Irving faced the mirror carefully, and finally got his bald head sorted after a long time of tossing. Although this cautious wig was still picked off by the FBI agent Richie played by Bradley Cooper in a joke, Bell, still used his excellent acting skills to increase the weight of the film. Irving, a cautious, detail-oriented, pretentious, and insecure New York liar, performed vividly.
The main storyline of the movie "American Hoax" itself is not complicated: Irving (played by Bell), a crook from Bronx in New York, owns several chains of dry cleaners. He and his lover Sydney (played by Amy Adams) are engaged in the illegal business of reselling fake paintings and financial deception. After being arrested by FBI agent Richie (Bradley Cooper), the two were forced to work for them, acting as undercover agents, pretending to be intermediaries for the powerful Middle East consortium, investigating the Atlantic City casino in New Jersey. Corruption in the interests of gangster groups and government officials in the process of construction and urban renovation. The formerly highly-popular mayor of Camden, Carmine (Jeremy Reiner), was duped into the water by Irving, Sydney and Richie for this promising project during his tenure. Numerous Congresses The congressman was also arrested for participating in the project corruption; the gangster group retired because Irving's original wife Rosayln was dissatisfied with the informant that her husband cheated him.
It may be the director David O. Russell deliberately. The movie "American Hoax" is a comedy with almost black humor. The plot narrative, the color of the camera, and the performance of the actors are always exaggerated and full from time to time. The iconic David-O-Russell jokes that appear from time to time also make the audience laugh from time to time (one of the "ice fishing with brothers in October" stalk did not explain at the end). However, even if the story in the film is adapted from a real story, and the opening of the film deliberately uses close-up subtitles to point out to the audience that "some of this actually happened" ("Some of this actually happened"), many viewers after watching the film It’s still hard to believe that the film is not a dramatic description but is adapted from a real story: because almost all the characters in the film, whether it is the liar Irving and Sydney, or the FBI agent Richie, or even Irving’s wife Rosayln, almost They all treat people and things around them in a deceptive attitude of "no one can be trusted", and they are all like telling the audience: this is a script written by a screenwriter, so don't take it seriously. Even Robert De Niro, who came out to make soy sauce, as a gang boss, negotiating with counterfeit Middle Eastern businessmen, there is not the slightest atmosphere of fear in "Good Guys" and "From Vegas to Macau", but just like joking. Tension scene. In the film, the director obviously used a black comedy or drama genre film processing method to describe this seemingly inexplicable scam story. Director David O. Russell’s narrative approach is very similar to the Coen brothers’ "Burn After Reading". This approximately also explains why the original name of the film is not the current "American Hustle" (American Hustle) but "American Bullshits" (American Bullshits).
Many aspects of the screen, costume style, and soundtrack of the movie "American Hoax" clearly pay tribute to Martin Scorsese's 1990 work "Good Guy", and even Robert De Niro made a special soy sauce. : Become the gang boss again. But director David O. Russell obviously chose a different approach from Lao Ma: the narrative is loose and the editing is random. Compared to the previous work "The Happiness Line Behind the Dark Clouds", it may be more focused on the narrative of its own main line. "American Hoax"'s handling of the character's emotional development seems weak: the male role setting is full of chicken thieves, which may be the narrative itself. Intention, and the two female characters Sydney and Rosalyn seem to be materialized sexy symbols in the director’s shots. Although the performances of Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence are impeccable, the driving force of the characters’ emotional development is unconvincing. . What the audience can see is the excellent performance of the actors and the excellent scheduling ability of the director, but the shortcomings in story advancement and film editing are as obvious as the strong colors of the lens itself.
"American Hoax" is an out-and-out David-O-Russell genre: smart, good-looking, exaggerated, full of color, and full of vitality. As a genre movie, the audience will not be disappointed, but even such an interesting genre movie, in this awards season, compared to "Nebraska", "Drunk Country Folk Songs", "Dallas Buyers Club" The serious work of "American Hoax" itself may be the same as the top of the head under the cover of Irving's wig: bald and bright, boasting a smile, and can't think about it.
(AMC Century City 12/14/2013 Dr. Wangcai "Phoenix Entertainment" draft)
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