***Spoilers Alert***
The movie begins with us meeting Irving (Bale) and his partner in crime, Edith (Adams). They are con artists who convince desperate people to hand over $5,000 in the hopes it will get them $50,000 in return. They seem to be quite successful, and even shocked, at how much people are willing to hand over money in the hopes it will make them profit. However, one con turns south pretty quick as they get caught by an FBI agent (Cooper). Edith is the one that accepts the check from the agent (major foreshadowing here), and is ultimately arrested for fraud. The FBI agent convinces Irving and Edith to work with him in taking down corrupt politicians in exchange for immunity.
Carmine Polito (Renner) is the mayor of Camden, NJ. He is hoping to rebuild Atlantic City after successfully legalizing casino operations in the state. He is known to be a very good person with great intentions, but has done some shady dealings to get genuine results. The FBI agent wants to ultimately pinch Polito, despite his wholesomeness. Irving and Edith are morally conflicted with taking down a good man and are even more upset when they realize the mob is now involved. The agent wants to use a fake beneficiary to lure in Congressmen and dangerous mob bosses from Miami who are all willing to get a piece of the Atlantic City pie. The main mob boss (Deniro) does not trust Irving and the group, but goes along with the agreement. Irving knows that once the mob gets conned and realizes this, him and his family are in life-threatening danger. Irving's wife (Lawrence) is a complete wild card in the film and almost ruins the entire operation when she reveals the plan to one of the mobsters she begins dating.
Irving and Edith are forced to make up a new plan and this time, they con the FBI agent to save themselves. They reveal the plan to Carmine and stop the flow of money before the mob dips in. They hire a friend to be the mob's "lawyer" and the agent is the one to give the account number to him (not Irving and Edith - remember from earlier). Since the money has gone missing now that the lawyer has been recognized as a fake, the FBI wants to know who has it. The agent quickly finds himself in hot water, because it was him who gave the account number. Irving and Edith ultimately have the money and offer to give it back so the FBI's image is preserved in exchange for immunity. They walk away from the situation, and the mob actually thanks them for stopping the exchange before they got pinched.
The acting in this film is incredible. Amy Adams, in my opinion, gives the performance of her career. Her British accent was very convincing, and I felt she was the most diverse out of the entire cast when it came to performance. The costuming in this film is brilliant, especially for the women. Amy Adams looks as if she was really in the 1970s as well as Christian Bale and Jeremy Renner. Some of the acting, on the other hand, was forced by supporting roles such as Jennifer Lawrence and Carmine's wife. Their impersonation of New Jersey residents did not impress me and at times I cringed.
The directing and filming in this film is extraordinary. The way the movie was shot was brilliantly executed. Some scenes that stick out for me are Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper walking towards the screen right before the party begins, Jeremy Renner and Christian Bale walking towards the car (the angle was superb), and Jennifer Lawrence walking down the hallway to the bathroom. These shots alongside so many others were done so well, I am confident David O Russell will be nominated for his directing.
Another aspect of the film that was brilliant yet comedic relief was the Ice Fishing Story. Throughout the whole film, we are trying to hear the FBI agent's boss finish his story about the time him and his brother went ice fishing. It is so unrelated to the movie, yet we become so intrigued by it's plot. The FBI agent constantly interrupts him, assuming he knows the ending only to find out he's wrong. It was beautifully executed and left us wondering, "What the hell happens to his brother?!"
This is a film to watch out for when Oscars get close. I believe we will see nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor (Bale), and Best Actress (Adams). Definitely go see it.
My Rating: A
