Hustlers

Another highlight of the movie was the costumes. Somehow there were as “loud or trashy” as they were memorable or glamorous and part of the whole package, like the ones from another “hustler movie” American Hustle. The vibe was very much “all that glitters is not gold, but it will still bedazzle!” Those tiny bits of fabrics, tacky jeans, and outrageous fur coats, made for an amazing or amusing viewing (depending on your point of view). Costume designer, Mitchell Travers, who also worked on another fashionable women ensemble, Ocean 8, managed to truly capture the essence of the women in a couple of items and, in the process, encapsulated a certain fashion (faux-pas!) sadly extremely popular at the dawn of the millennium. The direction is undoubtedly fresh, with things often happening fast. The earlier scenes are particularly brilliantly staged. It allowed viewers to witness the intimacy between the women and a polarizing work environment in a new light. Another director – definitely regardless of gender – might have chosen a more realistic depiction of violence or even a glorified one, which in the former case, could have been interesting considering Hustlers seems to shy away from showing “the bad stuff.” Or, if it does, it is “covered in fun” and makes viewers forget the physical pain felt by characters or the reality of the situation. For example, a dangerous intoxicating “drug-making scene” was possibly unnecessarily turned into an opportunity for a laugh. Nonetheless, we do feel the emotional pain of the protagonists and exceptionally well during Wu break-downs.

“…Ultimately Hustler is a true feel-good movie with a resonating message echoing throughout…”

Hustlers have few other flaws, including many eye-rolling moments. It might be thoroughly enjoyable, but there is a “try too hard” aspect to it, particularly in the second act leading to an uncomfortably dull Christmas dinner scene. Maybe the thing that makes Hustlers “glow” is also what makes it forget that fun and style over substance might not be ideal. As far as the narrative goes, assuming the audience might know the facts, or are familiar with events is one thing, but neglecting important chunks of story can leave viewers looking for “serious” perplexed. That being said, the main point of view is that of Destiny. On the other hand, one can say, the “#notallmen” approach was not too bad or well measured. Hustlers is about the women, but it still takes time to highlight the demise of one particular victim briefly. He lost his job and almost everything in his life after the scam, but was, unfortunately, one of the few good men involved. Likewise, during the interview, Dorothy feels really bad and remorseful for these unlucky men, who, unlike most their targets, earned their living decently and were also decent. It is also a good thing that Scafaria did not include “the token male character” to prove this point, as opposed to many films with men ensembles feeling the need to showcase a good mother/wife/daughter/neighbor/friend. The closest thing we have is Dorothy’s grandmother, who maybe is not as good as we think, but can be seen as giving additional motives to protagonists, making them feel good about their illicit activities because they are taking care of her and their entire families.

The moral of this story is not a simple one, as we are talking about legally criminal acts, but perhaps morally debatable ones. Obviously, it is not all black & white, and these women were not evil but far from good. They were rightfully angry about the situation – 1% or traders losing people money but not affected by any of it – and truly hungry for more. So viewers root for these anti-heroes to do bad deeds by rebelling against the reality of their conditions in an unjust society, and fighting against class inequalities, like seen in last year The Favourite or Widows, and this year Parasite. No matter the consequences, watching people with limited resources trying to take over a system selfishly is cathartic in more than one way. Many will watch Hustlers and think that Ramona was probably right; her way was the only way to teach some “grossly overpaid dudes” a lesson by getting their comeuppances without regard for anybody else. (like “the other women,” the wives we sometimes see in the background that Hustlers, unwisely or not, decided to blur…) It is not ideal, it is not legal, it does not benefit anybody else, but it was as close as “justice getting served all around” with our protagonist also paying the price. The film sometimes made us forget that the end goal for Ramona & Co., was not fighting for all of us or make the world a better place. There were humans, like many of us, often wanting more and jealous of what’s on our neighbor’s plate.

So, ultimately, Hustlers is a true feel-good movie with a resonating message echoing throughout. As Ramona stated in what could become one of the noteworthy poignant “food for thought” moments in film history: That, in the end, life is a strip club, and there are ‘people tossing the money and people doing the dance’… But at what cost.