We live in times that are morally challenging and where the line between right and wrong can feel nonexistent. As many fight to change the current order, others feel more pessimistic; the system can’t be changed, in order to defeat the powerful, you have to beat them at their own game. Is it stealing if you steal from a thief?
Inspired by a real life tale, Hustlers is the story of Destiny (Constance Wu) who becomes an exotic dancer named Dorothy in the hopes of earning enough money to support herself and her grandmother. After struggling to find her footing in the fast and harsh world of the high-end strip club, Dorothy befriends Ramona (Jennifer Lopez), a charismatic veteran dancer who shows her the ropes. In the midst of the Great Recession, Ramona, Dorothy, and a crew of former dancers come up with a scheme to bilk rich clients in order to enrich themselves.
While is about the dancers’ get rich quick scheme, the core of the film examines three basic universal issues: pain, family, and greed. When we meet Dorothy, she’s a bit timid and lives alone with the grandmother who raised her after being orphaned. At the club, she has no friends or anyone to turn to until she happens upon Ramona on a rooftop one fateful night. Once Dorothy connects with Ramona she also bonds with the other dancers and, once she’s found her tribe, she’s able to hit her stride professionally and personally, powered by the acceptance she has found. While drugging and robbing rich men may have been about the money for her compatriots, for Dorothy it was about the belonging and love of close loved ones she had always desired after being rejected by her parents.
There’s a pivotal moment in the film where, after feeling rejected by her new Russian coworkers and then being humiliated by a club patron, Dorothy happens upon Ramona and is first convinced to join in on her scheme to drug and rob the wealthy Wall Streeters that frequent the strip clubs. Her degrading experience, she claims, explains her vulnerability in joining in on the scheme. However, what Dorothy really craves is the lost camaraderie she had with Ramona and the rest of her original coworkers. Being humiliated for less than $100 pales in comparison to not having around the only family she’d ever known.
For Ramona, her motivations are the yin to Dorothy’s yang; rooted in the more visceral emotions of pain and greed. As a longtime dancer who has seen and experienced it all, Ramona understandably has developed a cynical outlook on the men she entertains, as many dancers do in reality. Allegorically, Ramona’s character serves as a stand-in for the middle and working classes that were railroaded by the unethical behavior of Wall Street financiers that torpedoed their income and received no punishment for it. Both motivations for Ramona are rooted in the sympathetic need of the marginalized to receive recompense for years of mistreatment from a cruel overclass that treats them as less than. Both Dorothy and Ramona’s actions are rooted in their pain, just pointed in opposite directions. Dorothy’s is turned inward and aimed at filling a void within herself while Ramona’s is pointed outward, seeking to rectify her mistreatment at the hands of men by delving out her own. Responses to trauma are varied and complicated and Hustlers does a very good job of capturing this dynamic.
With family being a major theme, it was important that the ensemble in Hustlers be believable in their onscreen interactions. The chemistry between the actors not only achieved this, it serves as one of the film’s strongest aspects. Jennifer López is transcendent in the film, offering perhaps the finest performance of her career. She is simultaneously charming and off-putting as the calculating Ramona, bringing the devious but multifaceted character to life; it’s hard to imagine the longtime star not garnering her first Oscar nomination. Constance Wu also shines as the lead and the film’s emotional anchor. We see the story unfold through her eyes and how Wu portrays Destiny’s journey allows the audience to sympathize and understand her despite the questionable nature of her conduct. Hustlers also provides plenty of laughs despite its serious plot and themes and a large part of this aspect of the film is due to the capable performances of Kiki Palmer and Lili Reinhart. Both provide the perfect amount of levity to give Hustlers the tonal balance that makes it such a hit with audiences. Music superstar Cardi B also shines in her cameo role, drawing upon her real-life background as a former dancer. The same natural charm and hilarity of just being herself that powered her meteoric rise to fame in rap is present here in a hilarious but small performance.
Hustlers is a very well crafted film that feels Scorcese-esque at points with some of its great tracking shots, the narration voiceovers, and morally ambiguous protagonists. It’s an impeccably paced film that never drags or bores, balancing comedy to keep the audience entertained with substantive themes that strengthens it artistically. López and Wu shine brightly, with López offering a performance that will be spoken of for years to come. But what truly makes the film standout and feel special is the level of care and quality from director Lorene Scafaria that feels specifically feminine. The level of camaraderie and genuine kinship and love between the dancers, the depiction of a strip club that feels authentic yet features very little nudity and none gratuitous, none of this could have been effectively achieved by a male filmmaker. What makes Hustlers great and what gives it it’s power as a piece of art is its feminine power and in a Hollywood landscape still struggling to provide women with opportunities, that is sadly notable and must be drawn attention to. As women in the film industry fight for equal opportunities to create, Hustlers serves as unquestionable evidence that female filmmakers can offer something unique and exceptional if given the opportunity.
Image: STX Films
