A great '70s look and an enjoyable story

Rating: 8/10 (30 September 2015)

It is 1978 and conman Irving Rosenfeld has been forced to help the FBI set up a sting against a New Jersey mayor who wants to see casinos developed in Atlantic City. After this brief introduction the action jumps back some time and we see Irving meeting his business partner/ mistress Sydney Prosser. They work their cons together until Sydney is caught in an FBI sting by agent Richie DiMaso; he gives them a choice; either they work with him to entrap much bigger players or she goes to jail. DiMaso's boss isn't keen on his operation; especially when he starts going after senior politicians, the mob and requests large sums of FBI money to impress their targets. If this wasn't enough Irving's wife is somewhat unstable and he isn't happy when Sydney gets close to DiMaso.
The opening scene introduces protagonist Irving perfectly; we see him walking around with his paunch on show and rather bald; he then proceeds to glue a hairpiece on and carefully sculpt his remaining hair about it; he is clearly vain and a phoney. This leads to a quick and effective introduction to the other main characters and the situation. The cast which is loaded with big name actors such as Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence and Jeremy Renner do a great job making the story believable. There are plenty of amusing moments but there is also a sense of danger once our protagonists start getting involved with the mob. The '70s time period was nicely captured with clothes and hair that came close to parodying the era; seeing Bradley Cooper with rollers in his hair and sporting a 'Medallion Man' look was hilarious and the necklines of Amy Adams' dresses plunged to a level that bordered in indecent when people say the '70s were 'The decade that taste forget' they meant this sort of look!