Hustlers

Funny, smart film enlivened by some exceptional performances. Lopez is deservedly getting much of the attention, and it is indeed a magnificently charismatic performance from her. Great to see any capable actor getting that sort of role after years of weak material. Costance Wu is also excellent, capturing her character's mix of confidence and unease with skill.

The film itself does a good job of tackling the morally thorny story - sassy and lively when needed, but without shying away from the increasingly sinister things these women are doing. It does an impressive job of largely sticking to their perspective while slowly giving us hints of the damage they're doing, before definitively underlining it later in the film. These are women caught up in a cruel, destructive, exploitative system - but their actions also had cruel, destructive, exploitative impacts. It achieves that balance while also being funny ( ) and a lovely little study of the genuine friendship between the two main characters.

If it struggles anywhere it's that it lacks the stylistic oomph of a Magic Mike or Ocean's 11 (two Soderbergh comparisons, oddly, but then again this is the first time since one of his film's that Lopez has knocked it out of the park). Lorene Scafaria's film has its moments - a weaponised use of Fiona Apple, of all choices, or the repeated shot of the 'sisters' approaching their prey - but structurally and stylistically can feel a little too familiar (things like the voiceover / framing device are overused in this sort of true crime caper). But as a character and relationship study, one set against the ever-present impact of a catastrophic financial crisis, it's a good one with some superb performances.