In this comic fictionalization of the Abscam scandal in the 1970s – in which the FBI gleefully and unethically entrapped more than a dozen politicians including six members of the House of Representatives and a senator – David O. Russell has made his best movie, and he’s the guy who gave us The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook. Christian Bale gained 50 pounds, a terrible comb-over, and a Bronx accent to play con artist Irving Rosenfeld, who suckers people desperate for loans with his mistress Sydney Prosser, played by vampish, quietly desperate Amy Adams. Pathologically ambitious and coked-up Agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) busts and forces them to teach him how to hustle so that he can sucker politicians into committing crimes. He goes after Camden Mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner), who is actually trying to do the right thing, and he goes after Amy, who is already upset that Irving can’t leave his wife, a scenery chewing and stealing hysterical Jennifer Lawrence. The costumes are almost as great as the acting.
