Does this film really warrant this level of analysis?

To talk about characters and casting, and then how one should really cast an actor to play a character, yeah, you should bring Robert De Niro (whom I respect a lot) to play nothing else and by that I mean something fresh, but a mobster. Nice one, Russell. Nice one. As if there was no one else on earth for Russell to cast as the mob boss, but Robert De Niro. Just because De Niro was in films like Godfather, Casino, Heat, Ronin.

Oh, and when De Niro is 100 years old and someone has a script with mobster character in it, yeah, call De Niro, because De Niro was asked by Russell to play mobster in American Hustle.

I can't get over it. And, 10 academy award nominations as if this is Inception. Sorry, guys, I had no choice, but to... Shit. This how crazy Russell has made Gotham!!!

Yeah, fixate on the uncredited one-scene cameo, that'll learn 'em.

You significantly expedite the danger posed by that character if you cast DeNiro in the role. There is literally no actor more intimidating. Mitchum's dead.

That uncredited cameo of De Niro, in my opinion, is one of the feeble parts of the script. Besides all the mess, it was "the" face-palm moment. This is not to say it was De Niro's fault; we're here questioning the audacity of Russell as a director whom unfortunately is not going anywhere with the concept. Offering us an emptiness, the script and Russell's direction, is what's being questioned and criticized. For that I blame Russell.

Rohan wrote:That uncredited cameo of De Niro, in my opinion, is one of the feeble parts of the script. Besides all the mess, it was "the" face-palm moment. This is not to say it is De Niro's fault; we're hear questioning the audacity of Russell as a director whom unfortunately is not going anywhere with the concept.

The DeNiro cameo was far and away the best part in the film.

IWatchFilmsNotMovies wrote:

Rohan wrote:That uncredited cameo of De Niro, in my opinion, is one of the feeble parts of the script. Besides all the mess, it was "the" face-palm moment. This is not to say it is De Niro's fault; we're here questioning the audacity of Russell as a director whom unfortunately is not going anywhere with the concept.

The DeNiro cameo was far and away the best part in the film.

Care to edify us?

Rohan wrote:That uncredited cameo of De Niro, in my opinion, is one of the feeble parts of the script. Besides all the mess, it was "the" face-palm moment. This is not to say it was De Niro's fault; we're here questioning the audacity of Russell as a director whom unfortunately is not going anywhere with the concept. Offering us an emptiness, the script and Russell's direction, is what's being questioned and criticized. For that I blame Russell.

It's not an emptyness, it's an unquestionably authenticity - as soon as you see DeNiro you realise that there's no game here, this guy is actually a mobster, this guy will actually kill people, this guy is real (hell, I mean, DeNiro even says this in the film). We've just run a gamut of deception and people pretending to be what they're not and all of a sudden there's a guy with whom there's no bullshit. On top of that he can actually speak Arabic. He's better equipped than the protagonists, he knows more than the protagonists, which makes him totally lethal and a complete threat.

Eh I liked DeNiro in this. He added a wrinkle or two and was probably the most authentic and honest character in the movie. Surprised with this critique.

ArmandFancypants wrote:

Rohan wrote:That uncredited cameo of De Niro, in my opinion, is one of the feeble parts of the script. Besides all the mess, it was "the" face-palm moment. This is not to say it was De Niro's fault; we're here questioning the audacity of Russell as a director whom unfortunately is not going anywhere with the concept. Offering us an emptiness, the script and Russell's direction, is what's being questioned and criticized. For that I blame Russell.

It's not an emptyness, it's an unquestionably authenticity - as soon as you see DeNiro you realise that there's no game here, this guy is actually a mobster, this guy will actually kill people, this guy is real (hell, I mean, DeNiro even says this in the film). We've just run a gamut of deception and people pretending to be what they're not and all of a sudden there's a guy with whom there's no bullshit. On top of that he can actually speak Arabic. He's better equipped than the protagonists, he knows more than the protagonists, which makes him totally lethal and a complete threat.

It didn't work for me. Casting De Niro should have been, in my opinion, eschewed as we've already seen the actor playing mobsters. Though, this doesn't mean De Niro is not capable of carrying such role; by all mean, he can. Any role and I don't even have to say it. Russell cares quite less when it comes to the plot here, paying close attention what's in front of the camera, yet fails here to give the setting itself a personality. The world in which his characters are breathing feels less real, as if he's in the process of building everything with sand, empty from inside, and feeble, as it is, from its foundation.

Rohan wrote:It didn't work for me. Casting De Niro should have been, in my opinion, eschewed as we've already seen the actor playing mobsters. Though, this doesn't mean De Niro is not capable of carrying such role; by all mean, he can. Any role and I don't even have to say it. Russell cares quite less when it comes to the plot here, paying close attention what's in front of the camera, yet fails here to give the setting itself a personality. The world in which his characters are breathing feels less real, as if he's in the process of building everything with sand, empty from inside, and feeble, as it is, from its foundation.

It's an old classic, but...