Heist films represent a hot genre in Cinema as it's basically the one category of films, that filmmakers can turn to for both financial and critical success. Although there are many different forms of heist films presented, it's the storylines as well as the way they are handled which make them distinct. With
Hustlers, the heist drama takes a different approach than the typical bank robbery making it appealing to audiences. Based on the New York magazine's 2015 article titled "The Hustlers at Scores" by Jessica Pressler which is centered around true events, the film focuses it's plot around a crew of former strip club dancers showing them group together to make money off their Wall Street clients.
Hustlers unlike most heist films, presents a unique take on the genre while delivering an approach that's flashy, funny, dramatic, eye-opening, and boasts career best performances from Jennifer Lopez (Whose certain to get an Oscar nomination for this film) and Constance Wu.
Hustlers delivers one of the first serious Oscar contenders for the 2019 fall movie season thus far.
Hustlers plot focuses on several former strip club employees, who are determined to make it on their own terms by profiting off their wealthy Wall Street clients. Their plans however, end up getting derailed with the 2008 recession making ready cash becoming less abundant. The dancers decide to take the next step by drugging their unsuspecting clients and taking advantage of them, often leaving them with nothing in most cases. Two movies come to mind when viewing
Hustlers, the first is Martin Scorsesse's
The Wolf Of Wall Street and the second is the 2015 drama titled
The Big Short. Whereas those movies were male-dominated and dealt with the rise and fall of slick yet unsuccessful heist schemes,
Hustlers is the female companion piece to those films that's entertaining, engaging, empowering, shocking, insightful, and powerful to watch at times. The performances of Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu are key here as the film focuses on their friendship turned partnership, with them making their way to the top in their professions before being thrown off course by the 2008 recession leaving them struggling to find their footing afterwards. The films success at being entertaining rests mainly on their shoulders as they make the story work with the journalist (Played by Julia Stiles) piecing together the full story of the two dancers journey and experience through interviewing Constance Wu's character Destiny. The films story is essentially broken up into several different parts with the beginning of the film showing the meeting and partnership of the girls, the second part showing their separation and struggle to adapt to the changes in the environment post recession era, and the third part being them reconnecting and planning a new strategy of making money by taking advantage of their clients with the final part of the film showing the repercussions of committing such crimes. What the film does well is explore the lifestyle of being an exotic dancer and giving answers to questions the audience may have such as why the main characters go back to it after the recession (Constance Wu's character for example). Both the story and subject matter are handled by the filmmakers in a way that's both respectful and entertaining while holding the audiences interest with the performances elevating the film.
As far as acting performances go, this film belongs to Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu, both of whom are not only terrific here but are sure to receive much recognition this awards season. Lopez is stunning here carving out a career defining performance, that's hands down her finest acting work next to her work in
Selena. Lopez does a brilliant job playing stripper Ramona, utilizing both her charisma as an actress while using her physical acting skills to play the part to near perfection. It's not a wonder why she's already generated much talk regarding her performance and will continue to do so this awards season. She fits the role perfectly and gives her all in playing such a slick, manipulative, and ultimately appealing character. Constance Wu does an equally great job playing Stripper Destiny who partners with Ramona in their profession to make the most profit. Wu delivers a heartwarming and and beautiful performance with both actresses showcasing great chemistry together when they're on the big screen. One can easily say that the film wouldn't be the hit that it's become without them in the main roles. Wu's character emphasizes more of the lifestyle of a young girl struggling to make ends meat as an exotic dancer as well as showing the struggle to leave that profession behind and evolve with her ultimately getting pulled back in. Julia Stiles does well playing the compassionate journalist Elizabeth with her chatacter interviewing Destiny to get the full story on her and Ramona's experience, while developing an understanding of the whole scope of the story as well as the reasoning for why the pair committed the crime they ultimately did. The rest of the supporting cast deliver strong performances with the minimal roles they have such as Cardi B as Diamond, Keke Palmer in a hilarious part as Mercedes, and Lili Reinhart shining as Annabelle. It was always going to come down to the casting choices that would either make or break the film and here, the cast as a whole does a terrific job with the heart of the film coming from the performances of Lopez and Wu. They both work great together and keep the audience engaged with the rest of the film by becoming invested in their friendship/partnership.
In terms of directing, Lorene Scafaria takes what could've easily ended up being a bland and plain biographical story and adds flare to it, making it an entertaining, mesmerizing, and ultimately an eye-opening experience. Scafaria doesn't waste no time in drawing the audience into the story with her showing Wu's character in the beginning, being taken in by the pro- dancer Ramona, who ends up showing her the ropes. The film carries with it both a goofy, slapstick tone, that can shift from being funny to dramatic without a moments notice. The dramatic moments within the story carry some of the more memorable moments in the film, particularly the moments where Jennifer Lopez character Ramona tries to justify the crews actions by mentioning that the Wall Street clients they take advantage of have ripped off other people for their own benefit and use their clients money to court strippers with many cases being them going behind their families backs. Another powerful moment in the story is Destiny's character on the phone with one of the clients she took advantage of with her realizing the moral weight of what they've done when the person declares they have nothing left for them or their family, leaving Destiny's character with no response other than both shock and guilt until being coached by Ramona to turn cold. Scafaria gives the film a good balance of fun and entertainment, while showing the harsh realities of the crime the girls committed as well as their own realization of it. The directing is flashy with strong cinematography showing the girls approaching the camera during certain scenes in slow-motion with the rest of the movie carrying with it a visual flare, that helps draw the audience into the story. The films directing brilliantly matches the stellar performances, that Scafaria manages to get out of her cast. While her directing won't win any major awards, its effective and noteworthy in regards to bringing an interesting story to the big screen.
The films scriptwriting by Lorene Scafaria is well-written with the film being female-centered with male characters having minimal roles, particularly the Wall Street clients that end up being hustled by the main characters. This film plays out as a female-empowered vehicle placing women front and center in this unique heist tale. The film covers themes such as survival, hustling, Wall Street, single parenting, stigmas, revenge, greed, power, corruption, playing by the rules, and facing the consequences of ones actions. The film explores those themes in-depth showing the exotic dancers struggle to make ends meat as well as Destiny's attempt to move past stripping during the aftermath of the 2008 recession. Through the character of Destiny, the audience witnesses the struggle her character conveys as she struggles to survive as a single mother along with making an attempt to pursue a different kind of career while facing the stigma of being an exotic dancer. Despite her character unquestionably breaking the law along with Ramona and the other female dancers, her motives and reasonings for going back into the game of hustling are explored with Destiny's character often feeling like a representation of the average female exotic dancer trying to put food on the table minus the shady elements. The film shows the manipulation that Ramona's character has over the other girls as she reminds the others that even though they're doing things that could be considered breaking the law, the clients they steal from are worse people as they steal from the people their supposed to be representing on Wall Street. The script delivers an interesting play on morality which begs the audience to question whether Lopez's character is justified in what she says, or carry the feeling that two wrongs don't make it right regardless of the scenario. The script does a solid job showing the greed and corruption that the crew falls trap to in regards to wanting to make more money the longer they get away with it. Like all heist films, the main characters are shown starting from the bottom, rising to the top, and ultimately experiencing their downfall as the consequences and moral lesson of their actions kick in. The films ultimate message, which is evidenced by both the main female characters in the film as well as the Wall Street clients that end up getting robbed, says that everybody hustles one way or another in some form.
One of the most noble aspects of Hustlers is that it never feels as if it's trying to condemn the actions of the exotic dancing crew nor paint them as terrible people. The film basically shows their career, lifestyle, and scheme to make money (And a clever scheme it was given how far the girls got before they were eventually brought down) while leaving the judgment up to the audience to decide whether Ramona and Destiny were terrible people for what they did or just girls that made a bad choice in an effort to make it in an era that was hit hard economically. The film clearly shows that the girls realize the mistake they made and accept their eventual punishments, though also shows the hustle that members of the crew make in regards to making deals with the authorities to serve less time by turning in the other person. The films underlining theme that everyone pulls a hustle is driven home from start to finish. The characters of Destiny and Ramona share a dynamic that screams comparisons to Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill in Working Of Wall Street with both sets of characters pulling a hustle with Lopez and Wu serving as female counterparts in their own tale.
Is
Hustlers a perfect film? No, there's moments where the story drags at certain points or feels repetitive, but for the most part it accomplishes what it set out to do, which is to entertain while giving audiences a glimpse into a profession, that's easily stigmatized and written off without a second thought. Perhaps it was that covering that the main characters benefitted from in order to pull off their twisted yet genius clever scheme.
Hustlers is fun, entertaining, and showcases great performances from it's main cast. The film despite having moments where it feels repetitive, never feels boring with the story keeping the audience engaged and the visual style of the film bringing it's story to life. For fans of Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, and those who simply want to see a different yet still engaging crime story,
Hustlers is worth watching and hopefully represents a career revival for Jennifer Lopez, while furthering Constance Wu's status as a promising strong actress in Hollywood.
Final Verdict: A must see for Jennifer Lopez fans, Constance Wu fans, and fans of heist films in general.
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