The 2013 movie American Hustle begins with Duke Ellington’s "Jeep's Blues," which becomes a brief leitmotif representing the relationship between actors Christian Bale and Amy Adams. In the opening scene Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) introduces himself to Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) after catching a glimpse of her bracelet, which features portraits of Duke Ellington. They soon bond over their love of Ellington while listening to “Jeep’s Blues,” each claiming his music saved their life. The audience then hears internal monologu­es from both Rosenfeld and Prosser that express their attraction to one another and foreshadow their coming relationship. American Hustle is a star-studded movie starring Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, and Jennifer Lawrence. It was released on December 13, 2013, and earned 251.1 million at the box office.[1]
Director David O. Russell spoke about why he chose "Jeep's Blues" to set the stage for Amy Adam's and Christian Bale's relationship in an insightful interview with a Los Angeles news station. Russell speaks eloquently of how 1957 (the year “Jeep’s Blues” was recorded) was a year of reinvention for Duke Ellington as “the beboppers had surpassed him,” and how this film was about “reinvention, and identity, and the fragility of identity,” which is why he chose Ellington’s piece to be “cornerstone of [Bale and Adams] love affair.”
Christian Bale (CB): Is that Duke Ellington on your bracelet?
Amy Adams (AA): Yeah, as a matter of fact, it is. He died this year, you know?
CB: I know. I doubt anyone else here knows or cares about him.
AA: Well I care about him. He saved my life many times.
CB: Mine, too. ...which one?
AA: "Jeep's Blues"
CB: "Jeep's Blues"?
AA: Yeah, "Jeep's Blues"
CB: oh yeah?
AA: Yeah
CB: You, uh..., wanna hear it?
AA: Right now...sure?
Jeep's Blues begins
CB: Who starts a song like that?!
AA: It's magic.
CB: Magic.