Hustlers

(MA15+) ★★★★

Director: Lorene Scafaria.

Cast: Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Mercedes Ruehl, Trace Lysette, Wai Ching Ho, Madeline Brewer, Steven Boyer, Cardi B.

One of these women is seconds away from a cork-related injury.

Recent film The Kitchen promised us a high quality street-level crime drama with a strong female cast and a sprinkling of laughs. It did not deliver.

Thankfully, we have Hustlers to fill the void The Kitchen couldn't. It's a refreshing take on the crime drama due to its fascinating fact-based material, but it still follows the tried-and-true rise-and-fall beats of the genre. It's like Goodfellas, but with strippers. Goodstrippers?

The real secret to Hustlers' success is the female friendship at its heart. Yes, it's great fun watching skeezy Wall Street wankers get their comeuppance at the hands of women struggling to make ends meet, but it's the feeling of camaraderie and family among its key characters which wins the day.

Based on Jessica Pressler's 2015 article for The Cut, it follows an exotic dancer named Dorothy AKA Destiny (Wu). She befriends more experienced fellow dancer Ramona (Lopez), and when their club falls on hard times due to the Global Financial Crisis, they take a more direct route to getting money out of the white-collar sleazebags who used to frequent the club - drug 'em and rob 'em. What could possibly go wrong?

Much has been made of Lopez's performance here, and for good reason. Ramona is by far the most interesting character and Lopez rolls through her highs and lows, through the dirt and the glitter, effortlessly and convincingly. It's her best performance since Out Of Sight, and a reminder of her talent as an actor.

She's the standout in a strong cast. Relative newcomer Reinhart gives a breakthrough performance, while Wu, in the lead role, is the right mix of strong and naive, handling the drama and comedy with equal ease.

Best of all is the way Wu and Lopez work together. Their big sister-little sister (or is that mother/daughter?) dynamic is the river that flows through the film. Yes, it's a crime drama with a hint of GFC-sprung angst and a lashing of patriarchy blowback, but really it's a story about the sororal relationship between two strong women trying to find their way.

(And if you're one of those fuckheads on Twitter/Reddit/YouTube comments whining the movie "glorifies" abusing men, go and see the actual film, you dipshit. The women are targeting sleazy Wall Street wankers - you're rooting for shit men. It's like whining about the ethics of Robin Hood - I don't hear you bitching about the one hundred seventy million films that show the Sheriff of Nottingham getting ripped off. In fact, when the hustlers in Hustlers target someone who isn't a shitty stock exchange arsehole, there are serious repercussions. That's one of the points of the film. So, back in your basement, incel.)

Hustlers is surprisingly fun for a long amount of time, prolonging the tension of the inevitable fall. An occasionally awkward framing device involving Stiles' reporter quizzing Dorothy/Destiny about her involvement with the hustlers helps to keep the story moving forward, as much as it also stops the flow from time to time. There's a sense that this time-jumping plot device could have been handled better, but it's also obvious the film might have dragged without it.

Scafaria's direction is on point. The stripping scenes aren't gratuitous, the drug-'em-and-rob-'em scenes are suitably woozy, and there are a couple of really nice shots in the mix. The way it all fits with the music and the production design is nice.

It feels like we're on the cusp of a truly great era of lady-led storytelling. Hustlers fits in with this vibe, but it's also a fun crime caper with an interesting and fresh twist. Regardless of gender politics, Hustlers is an enjoyable film featuring heart and humour.