Owen, the old liar of the jungle society in the serial scam,
and the dancing girl Sidney are basically the same except for their gender, and they are like the lost half of conjoined babies. So Sidney became Owen, and in the process of deceiving people, he discovered his true self and achieved his dream of "becoming someone else". Irving's deceitful career is also officially rejuvenated after meeting Sidney and thriving. The film basically says nothing about the situation of the deceived, but sees the passion, joy and happiness of the con artists. The flowing music sets off the deceitful cause of the best partners, but conceals the miserable life of the deceived. So when the story takes a twist and the liar is forced to change careers as "bait", the audience will always feel a little unbearable, and it also lays the groundwork for the film's reversal ending.
The mayor may be a good mayor, and the lenders may be good people, but you deserve to be deceived, who makes you unable to resist the temptation? In the original Owen's view, deception is an eternal theme in life, and there is nothing to hide. Since childhood, he has been deceiving and being deceived to make a living, and sometimes he has to deceive himself. So when he set up a scam to deceive the lender played by FBI agent Richie, he was deceived by Richie, and in desperation, he joined the political scam set up by Richie. Compared with the two of them, people like Richie and Amado are actually bigger and more despicable liars, because even if the latter has impure motives, they are blessed with a high-sounding halo of justice, always blinding people's eyes, You are so determined that you can't refute it.
The scams in the film can be described as interlocking, from the little tricks of Owen and Sidney, to the big scam set up by Richie, and even the power game between gangsters and high-level politicians, all of which make people sigh at the difficulties and difficulties of ordinary people's lives. The absurdity of American politics. For Owen, being a liar is not glamorous, but the liar and the deceived actually have "original sin"; it is inevitable that the bad guys will be punished, but the Riches are even more hateful. Those bigwigs, rich people, and "real fraudsters" can't even meet them, and those who want to benefit the people are locked up because of petty mistakes. Even more absurd is that the enforcers are worse than the fallen ones, and benefit enormously from the failures of others. In view of this, it is difficult for you to say that this is the so-called "realization of justice". If you have to give it a name, "the law of the weak" may be more appropriate. Politicians are just relying on their own means to devour each other in the political jungle, seek his position. Therefore, this film with Hollywood-style love elements throughout seems to be talking about "scam", but it is actually talking about politics. Of course, in addition to uncovering the corruption and dark side of American politics, the ending seems to be designed to tell people the simple truth of "stealing is also right". You can cheat shamelessly, but please don't beautify yourself. Otherwise, it can only be "the agency is too smart, and it has mistaken Qingqing's life."
The "Ice Fishing" Metaphor and Human's Inner Emotions
The story background of "American Hustle" is set in the United States in the 1970s. At that time, the rulers and ordinary people of most countries actually lived in a huge scam. For the United States, the failure of the Vietnam War, the Watergate Incident and the aggressiveness of the Soviet Union made the United States difficult at home and abroad, and its rule was weak. At this time, the performances of Irving and Rich became a political metaphor to some extent. So the director used Sidney's words to scold Carter and Nixon at the beginning, and then let the liars with distinctive personalities start a seemingly bland but fierce fight in gambling and scams.
The liar will also be patriotic, and will also have a conscience that Irving can set up a trick for Rich to deceive ordinary people, but he is not willing to lie to Carmine. In his opinion, Rich is for his own personal gain. The U.S. political situation restored in China will eventually destroy the United States. Richie took a completely different view, claiming that he was doing it for a "greater cause," so justice was interpreted differently by different people. Interestingly, Rich's boss told a joke about "ice fishing" in October in the film, which is the film's most straightforward expression of "fishing law enforcement", but every time he didn't finish he was explained by Richie's self-righteousness. Interrupted, so that the ending can only be guessed by the audience. This joke also seems to imply the arrogance and impatience of the Richies. As a gambler in Hustle, if you can't act cautiously and take it as soon as you see it, you just rely on luck and you can only lose your money in the end.
Under the background of the big era, the most moving thing is often the love and hatred of the little people. Several liars in the film not only deceive people in the scam, but also perform hard in life. In addition to criticizing politics, it may be the director's true intention to express the truth and falsity of human nature and life. Richie is an FBI agent, but he is also a little man who shares a room with his mother; he has a fiancée who is fascinated by Sidney; he has a bleak career but tries to "reach the top of his life" by "fishing". Sidney fell in love with Owen at first sight, but under the temptation and provocation of Richie, she became suspicious, possessed Owen and was jealous of the legitimate relationship between Owen and his wife and children; she was a little addicted to Richie, but could not. True acceptance, seduction and rejection constantly battling in her brain out of revenge for Owen and self-deception she couldn't even articulate. Although Owen was extremely disgusted by his wife's neuroticism, he couldn't make up his mind to divorce her, and he deceived himself and insisted on the "father-son relationship" that had nothing to do with him, and thus had a disagreement with Sidney. There are also Carmine's ideals and aspirations for the people and the private collusion with gangsters expressed in the drink, and so on. The complex characters are all overshadowed by the fake performances in life, and the occasional "curly hair" and "sticking wigs" and other details seem to imply the little people's helpless and gray mood every day and have to work hard. In fact, "fishing" tests people's patience and desire, and the inner feelings and desires of the deceiver and the deceived may also be important factors that need to be deeply explored by the law.
The dark version of the "American Dream"
If "fishing law enforcement" is only used as a means of obtaining evidence, rather than tempting the parties to have illegal intentions, and at the same time, the scope of applicable cases and the whereabouts of the seized funds can be strictly controlled, the matter of "fishing law enforcement" is actually not so inappropriate, because Some cases are either difficult to obtain evidence or extremely harmful to society. The police in Hong Kong will "release snakes" to arrest whoring, drug and piracy, and law enforcement agencies in the United States are still using "temptation investigation" to conduct criminal investigations and collect evidence. Although the story in the film happened in the 1970s, today "fishing law enforcement" has become a tradition in the United States and even the world. In addition to fishing for anti-corruption, fishing for anti-terrorism, fishing and other fishing methods are no secret. So, it's no wonder that federal agent Ritchie thought of using this trick to deal with the mayor Carmine, who has a good reputation but is eager to support him.
However, the nature of "fishing law enforcement" determines that it has been born with a dark skin since the day it was born, and is destined to be unrelated to the right path and related to evil. It is not uncommon in "fishing" for a fake client to enter the role and become a fake, and a fake drug dealer becomes a drug addict for an undercover agent. The bait is either sacrificed or willing to sink. Not to mention the crimes and punishments caused by the greed of the anglers. I still remember that in 2009, the traffic law enforcement brigade of a certain city had seriously damaged the government's credibility by employing "hooks" to set up bureaus, confiscating the money of black car drivers and even ordinary people, and making profits from the law enforcement industry chain, which was criticized by public opinion. In 2012, the police and sex workers of a police station joined forces to "fish for whoring", which made people lament that some law enforcement officers "used public tools for private use" under the temptation of money to make money.
Although praising grassroots villains such as liars and robbers is one of Hollywood's traditions, it still serves the politically correct theme film tradition. Ritchie's ultimate failure in the movie. But on the other hand, the truth is often impossible or even destined to not be as good as the movie. No matter how effective "fishing law enforcement" is in combating illegal crimes, its dark identity determines that it must be a breeding ground for corruption and injustice. The deformed American "fishing law enforcement" system has created many super "heroes": they They are often politically correct and have a tall image, always chanting slogans, and showing a capable image of a public spokesperson, but in fact, by suppressing corrupt politicians and gangsters, they accomplish their ulterior political goals or grab huge economic benefits. In this regard, "fishing law enforcement" is just a black version of the "American Dream" for those who hold public weapons - relying on the sacrifice of villains to gain personal superiority, the price is the dignity, interests, and lives of fish and bait, and trampling on the spirit of the rule of law. The past is not as good as smoke, and the dream will eventually have to face the day of sobriety. I hope that "fishing law enforcement" can become an old dream of the past that has passed away forever.
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