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Hustle is the story of a team of grifters, con artists who make a dishonest living from being smarter than the average person and using this to their own advantage. Whether it is blagging freebies from the barman at their favourite drinking establishment, or putting one over on a bent Customs official, the Hustlers know how to make the most of their talents.
'So how are we meant to care about or empathise with a gang of crooks?' you might well ask. But the maxim of Hustle is “You can’t con an honest man”, and the team never do. Their targets, or ‘marks’, are corrupt bankers, politicians on the make or those who cheat the innocent.
The team comprises charismatic leader and brains of the outfit Michael Stone (Adrian Lester), forger and master of disguise Ash Morgan (Robert Glenister), veteran ‘convincer’ Albert Stroller (Robert Vaughn) plus recent recruits Sean and Emma Kennedy (Matt Di Angelo and Kelly Adams), brother and sister con artists.
When Sean blows a simple switch on the team’s latest con, the others are understandably upset. But not as upset as Sean, and later Emma, as the reason for his failure was that he has just seen his father, Rex Kennedy (Danny Webb), who walked out on the family when he and Emma were children.
As a child Sean kept a tally of money the family lost out on due to their missing dad. He determines that he will make their father pay so he cooks up a con and, after some reluctance, the team decide to help him get back the money Sean reckons he and Emma are owed.
A complex scheme is put into action by the Hustlers involving a secret plan to smuggle heirlooms out of the country during the Second World War by a dodgy American pilot who was shot down over London by ‘friendly fire’. They bury some aircraft artefacts and a bracelet, along with a forged inventory of valuables, on land Rex is trying to sell. Then Sean turns up with a metal detector and allows Rex to catch him looking for the stash.
The con unfolds nicely, until Sean starts getting cold feet when Rex, instead of trying to cut him out, actively seeks his helps with recovering the loot. After much soul searching (and a ‘convincer’ from Emma that nets £500,000 from Rex) they confess the con, along with their identities, to their astonished father.
The best episodes of Hustle are the ones with the slick strategy used against some corrupt ‘mark’. This is a slightly different style of episode, though a nice change of pace for all that, giving some depth to the characters of Sean and Emma along the way. The final scenes where they confront their father are well played and quite touching, especially when they realise he isn’t willing to wreck his new family to get his money back. Good stuff.
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