Writer-director Lorene Scafaria's 2019 hit HUSTLERS, about a group of exotic dancers who plot to lighten the wallets of their clientele, has it all: a real story taken from a New York magazine feature; authentic Big Apple locations; a "heist" plot that shows a group of desperate but resourceful characters seeing how many laws they can break without getting caught or feeling irredeemably awful; and a crackling ensemble of women led by Constance Wu as the narrator, a dancer, and Jennifer Lopez as her street-tough but warm-hearted mentor, and the den mother to all the other "girls" in the club. And then there's the direction: Scafaria lends visual dynamism and a sense of fun and sexiness to a serious story about the cultural and economic chains that bind women, and the lengths they'll go to in order to liberate themselves.