Hustlers

• Year: 2019
• Country: USA
• Director: Lorene Scafaria
• Starring: Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Stiles

The true story of a group of strippers in New York City who, after the financial crash of 2008 find a way to scheme their ways in their Wall Street clients’ wallets is an unapologetic morally ambiguous tale that by no means attempts at being a cautionary one. In that respect, praise be given to this film. I won’t spoil more about the story though. A lot has been said and written about this movie and there are points to clear up: despite some funny moments, this is not a comedy. Point number two: Jennifer Lopez is as good as everyone says she is here, but in my mind, it’s Constance Wu, in the starring role who deserves the Oscar nod: her portrayal of the girl who turned to stripping to support her grandmother’s debts and found a whole underworld of wealth waiting for her is powerful, nuanced and touching. The film is hugely entertaining and only starts to fail a bit near the end, where conflict between Wu and Lopez occurs: the film can’t decide what tone it wants, sometimes steering in awkward Goodfellas-like turn, and this results in an unconvincing last half hour (it is “inspired” by true events, after all – so please watch this with a grain of salt). Well worth your time, despite its slight flaws.