From dmaggot

 0

@oneimill I found that halfway through American Hustle, I had no idea what the movie was even supposed to be about. I don't even think the filmmakers knew. The plot was a mess. But the movie itself was a good looking mess. Good combination of music and costume design. But I found that I couldn't be distracted enough by all that to be blown away by it. 

oneimill:
That was definitely a problem. David O. Russel usually keeps almost authoritarian control over his films, but he went pretty hands off, and told the actors to do what felt natural. It seemed like 4 different story lines that were supposed to blend, but really didn't. The relationship between Bale and Adams felt so fake that the ending didn't work for me at all.