A couple of con artists go after an honest politician for a power-hungry FBI agent.

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It’s love at first sight for Rosalyn (Amy Adams) and Irving (Christian Bale), despite him having a family. These two talented con artists run a series of financial scams and sell fake paintings. The plot thickens when they’re arrested by Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper), a power-hungry FBI agent, who tells them they can avoid prison if they help him take down an honest mayor (Jeremy Renner) who is trying to build up Atlantic City as a gambling town, creating thousands of jobs. While DiMaso dreams of catching corrupt senators the situation soon spins out of control: as they find themselves having to negotiate with one of the US’s biggest gangsters, Irving’s insufferable wife (Jennifer Lawrence) starts to unravel the whole story...

In the wake of The Fighter and The Sliver Linings Playbook, David O'Russell is back with yet another excellent film, both funny and impressive, superbly directed and moving, this time about the ABSCAM scandal, in which everyone lies to everyone else, starting with themselves. Rarely have the 1970’s been so perfectly recreated, from the soundtrack to hairstyles, cinematography, sets, etc. The best conditions for a stellar cast to work under: Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner are fantastic, while Jennifer Lawrence and Christian Bale are pure genius. Only one tiny criticism: David O'Russell obviously watched Martin Scorsese’s Casino quite a few times; its influence on American Hustle is clear from beginning to end.