I’ve heard a variety of things about this, and it was on my list to see but I wanted to make sure I caught it in the theatres. Can I just admit to something out of the gate? I love Amy Adams. The intro to their characters (her and Christian Bale) with the duelling V/O as we watch them fall in love (and fall in love with them by proxy) is such an amazing and perfect set-up to get us into this story. Bale is an amazing anti-hero. There’s a long portion of the film where you’re not sure if you should be rooting for him or Cooper, and that’s a delightful way to experience a film like this. The film is hard to describe - it’s essentially about two con artists who get forced to work with the FBI, and then it becomes a cat and mouse game of whose playing who. The film is full of amazing performances by the previously mentioned, but also Louis CK has a fun little part, and Jennifer Laurence obliterates every single scene she’s in - she’s fantastic and worth all the praise.
I think this film has been criticized as David O. Russell trying to be Scorcese, but I didn’t care. I loved the feel of the film, and despite it feeling a bit long by the end, I really enjoyed it. I love that it doesn’t paint the world as black and white. The cast is in fine form. It’s fun, it’s sexy, it’s a film well worth seeing. It’s not going to change your life or the way you look at the world, but it’ll entertain you - or so I hope. I liked it a lot and it could very well be my favourite David O. Russell film (though I’ve yet to see The Fighter). Check it out pre-Oscars if you can!
