American Hustle (15)

Directed by David O Russell

4 Stars

With seven Golden Globe nominations and 13 Critics Choice Awards nods, David O Russell's American Hustle is emerging as a serious contender as the awards season approaches.

This masterful crime caper is inspired by the Abscam FBI sting operation of the late 1970s in which the Feds hired a convicted con artist to entrap members of Congress. This resulted in seven officials being found guilty of bribery and conspiracy.

Here, a barely recognisable Christian Bale stars as brilliant con man Irving Rosenfeld who, along with his equally cunning and seductive business partner and lover Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), is forced to work for maverick FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper).

To secure their freedom they must ensnare Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner), the mayor of New Jersey and his mafia business associates. Unfortunately Irving's loose cannon of a wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) could bring the whole operation crashing down.

From the opening frames, when you watch a rather podgy and balding Bale performing an intricate comb-over and then sticking an unseemly hair piece to his head in a luxurious hotel room your curiosity is piqued and you are glued to the action.

This isn't your ordinary crime drama - it's about love, survival and reinvention. Everyone is pretending to be someone else and is conning someone, whether themselves or another person.

Co-written by Russell and Eric Warren Singer the plot isn't particularly clever or inventive but the characters and their portrayal completely reel you in.

Factor in the fabulous 1970s setting- with the lavish look and tone of the time, colourful fashion and big hair - and you end up being seduced.

It's an ensemble-driven drama in which every member of the star-studded cast delivers a captivating performance.

Russell has an innate ability of getting that little bit extra from his actors. Adams, who appears braless and in cleavage-defying clothes for most of the film, is sexy and sophisticated yet strong and vulnerable as Sydney.

Bale is forceful and totally surprising as the overweight and folically challenged Irving. Cooper is wild and brash and yet still looks manly with his hair in tight curlers and Lawrence is spellbinding as the loud and tacky Rosalyn.

Another flawless ensemble feature by Russell and not to be missed.