Hustlers Review: 8 Ups & 3 Downs

4. It Never Really Seeks To Preach At All

Just as there could have been some temptation to make this a commentary on the stripping industry or the commodification of the female body without consent in another film-maker's hands, there surely must also have been some pull to make it a critique of the people who caused the global crash.

But that would be too simple.

Some more negative reviews have suggested that the film loses something for not being more overt in that criticism, but it would have been a betrayal of the characters. They're not SUPPOSED to be heroes entirely, because they aren't just robbing to put food in their mouths. They're robbing to put Louboutins on their feet and scandalously expensive handbags in their scandalously expensive penthouses.

That's why we see them almost perversely wasting their money and why we're never invited to laugh at the victims of their crime: there's no intent to tell us either way which is the worse party.