15 Movies That Say More About Their Makers Than They Realise

14. American Hustle - David O. Russell

In David O. Russell's comedy about government corruption, greed and insane hairstyles, the two lead characters are polar opposites in their approach to business and life in general: con man Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) may be a crook, but he's cautious enough to know when to quit so he doesn't fall victim to the pitfalls of pride and greed. FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper), on the other hand, is a maverick who throws everything into anything he does and is always in search of a bigger haul - much to the detriment of himself and everyone around him. Where Irving understands the value of discretion, Richie doesn't know the meaning of subtlety or restraint, as shown in his hard-partying lifestyle. If you squint, you can easily see different versions of the director in both of his characters, albeit more than a decade apart. Richie is Russell as a young director who thought he was hot shit and was simply waiting for the world to catch up to him; the guy who had a fistfight with George Clooney on the set of Three Kings and had a recorded and now-infamous row with Lily Tomlin on I Heart Huckabees, a moment that left the director out in the Hollywood wilderness for a number of years before his humble return. Said return is equally well-represented by Irving, who's made mistakes in the past and understands the limits of what he can accomplish. David O. Russell is a more thoughtful, less volatile director now, and while he might not be attempting anything wild or groundbreaking right now, at least he can get along with people long enough to get his films made.