美国骗局：骗子的江湖

张仪

1978年3月，为了打击艺术领域的偷盗和造假行为，纽约哈帕克的FBI办公室开展了一场代号为“Abscam”的钓鱼执法行动。为了让这次行动更加专业和天衣无缝，FBI找了一个已被定罪的骗子Melvin Weinberg帮助设局，条件是只要大功告成，FBI可同意其获得假释。但出乎所有人意料的是，这次原本只是针对商业投机行为的行动最后演变成了一场政治领域的反腐风暴；本想钓几条小鱼就收网的案子最后竟钓出一群“大鳄”。在这次行动中，共有三十多名政界人士遭到调查，最终七名国会议员、一名新泽西州议员、数名费城市议员、一名市长和一名移民局官员被定罪。以此案为背景，导演大卫·拉塞尔（David Russell）于2013年拍摄了电影《美国骗局》（American Hustle），再现了三十多年前的惊天大案。

骗子

登场

和“Abscam行动”的故事原型一样，影片《美国骗局》中FBI也利用了真正的骗子来设计钓鱼骗局。既然骗子在这场骗局中有着如此重要的戏份，他们的出场也必然要着重渲染。在男主角Irving Rosenfeld （原型为Melvin Weinberg）的旁白中，他透露了自己的童年和发家史。

Irving： Did you ever have to find a way to survive， and you knew your choices were bad？ I learned how to survive when I was a kid. My father had a glass business. I would rather be on the taking side than the getting-taken side any day of the week， especially after I saw how my father got taken. I mean， seeing that scarred me for life. I took it upon myself to drum up business. I became a different kind of guy than my father. I became a con artist （骗子） for real， from the feet up. I was gonna survive no matter what. I still had the glass business and a few dry cleaning stores also， and I did some art dealing on the side （暗地里）； stolen or forged （伪造的） art.

只是因为不想再像父亲那样做一个被人欺负的小人物，Irving便走上了一条发家致富的捷径——行骗江湖，做了一个名画骗子。当然，只有一个然，只有一个男骗子的剧情肯定是单薄和乏味的，于是在朋友家里的一次泳池聚会上，Irving遇到了女主角Sydney Prosser。

Irving： I mean， she was a very particular person. Like me， she had come from a place where her options were limited. Like me， she learned to survive and reinvent herself. She knew she had to reinvent her life and her identity. And like me， she envisioned a better， elegant future for herself. Like me， she knew you had to have a vision. She came to New York， she envisioned it， and just like that she applied for a job at Cosmopolitan magazine. She was unlike anybody I ever knew. She was smart. She saw through people in situations， and she knew how to live with passion and style. She understood Duke Ellington （艾灵顿公爵，美国著名作曲家、钢琴家、爵士乐队首席领班）.

四个“like me”足以说明在这个骗子的江湖里，Irving与Sydney两人何等惺惺相惜。正所谓“物以类聚，人以群分”，Irving和Sydney来自不同的地方，却为了一个共同的目标走到了一起，那就是通过不劳而获的手段成为人中龙凤。有了这个共同的目标，又如此心有灵犀，两人自然而然成为爱情伴侣和生意伙伴，以倒卖假画和金融诈骗的方式空手套白狼，并过上了富足的生活。

有意思的是，虽然Irving和Sydney都是骗子，但他们对彼此却显示了超出江湖规则的诚实。Irving有一个家庭，他和一个带着小孩的单身女人Rosalyn结了婚，对她的孩子视如己出。但Irving对Rosalyn已经没有感情，而Rosalyn深知Irving爱她的孩子，于是借此操纵Irving，暂时维系了家庭的表面团结。对此Irving并没有隐瞒Sydney，他愿意为了非生子而委曲求全的态度甚至赢得了Sydney的尊重。从这个角度来说，影片并没有打算把两个骗子塑造成十恶不赦的恶棍，在他们邪恶的人性里也有极其真诚的一面。在导演的镜头中，这些本该非黑即白的角色被刻意调整了正与邪的比重，这也为故事最后戏剧性的结尾埋下了伏笔。

将计

就计

俗话说，常在河边走，哪有不湿鞋。虽然Irving和Sydney的骗术几近天衣无缝、炉火纯青，但天网恢恢，疏而不漏，这对骗子搭档最终被FBI盯上，并在FBI的一次钓鱼执法中落网。但FBI抓捕这对江湖骗子的真正用意并非是要将二人绳之以法，匡扶正义。在这次钓鱼执法行动的背后，FBI设了一个更大的局，而这个局的设计者就是FBI探员Richie DiMaso。在FBI的审讯室外，Richie向Irving道出了抓捕两人的真实用意。

Richie： I see something in you， Irving. I get very excited. I think that we have a lot of potential here. Now， look， I came up with the idea. Its all from me. I want to change things. I want to go after white-collar crime. Irving， youre very skilled， and I want you to teach me， and we can do this. I want four people that do what you do. Fraudulent （欺诈性的） investments， fake certificates of deposit， stolen art， fake art. You get me four people， and youre off the hook.

Irving： Four busts （逮捕）， and you leave us alone？ We dont have to testify？

Richie： Youre good. Youre done. Anything you want. But if you run， then your lifes over. Youre gonna be hunted， and its gonna be very difficult for Rosalyn and your kid to live in this country.

Richie用最传统的威逼利诱手段将Irving拉入了他设计的妙局：他要利用Irving和Sydney的身份和骗术使更多的骗子落网。在向Irving介绍他的得意计划时，他特别强调“I came up with the idea. Its all from me”，这也反映出设计这个骗局的关键人物Richie的性格特点：年轻气盛、充满野心，同时好大喜功、急功近利。他的性格弱点从办案一开始就暴露得赤裸裸，他甚至都没有想过应该如何去掩饰自己的这些致命弱点，因为他认为自己的计划已经完美得无懈可击，并早已在心里设想了大功告成后加官进爵、前呼后拥的盛大场面。但Irving和Sydney能成为“江湖大骗”绝非浪得虚名，当Irving向Sydney透露了Richie的计划后，Sydney的一席话便突显了大智若愚和自以为是的巨大差距。

Sydney： Im gonna do these four busts， these four cons， to get us out of this； not just me， but us. And Im gonna get really close with Richie the cop in case we need to use him， if we need another move.

Irving： We dont need another move. We need four busts， then were done.

Sydney： We are gonna need another move. Trust me， and youre gonna be thanking me. The key to people is what they believe and what they want to believe. So I want to believe that we were real. And I want to believe that a man could want me， and Im gonna take all of that heartbreak and all of that sorrow， and I am going to use it， and I am going to make Richie think that I want him and that I like him. And Im gonna be very， very convincing.

有道是姜还是老的辣，Sydney很快找到了她的优势所在以及Richie的致命弱点，并决定将计就计、反守为攻。本来一出由Richie设计导演、由Irving和Sydney主演的戏从此在暗中掉了个儿。

演出

开始

Richie虽然有心设局，却无人牵线，这也是他需要Irving和Sydney的地方。也正因为如此，在这场骗中骗的智斗中，Irving和Sydney从一开始就占了先手。Irving请他的朋友假扮要来美国投资的阿拉伯酋长，以此为诱饵引出其他骗子。在一座博物馆里，Irving和Sydney向Richie介绍了他们的棋局。

Richie： An Arab sheik （酋长）？ What do we want an Arab sheik for？

Irving： To set this up， to bust the con artist， we need to make the honeypot to attract the bees. To attract the bees， we need to offer them a wealthy individual who they can take advantage of. Someone special， someone new， someone amazing. And those guys are going to want to sell fake bank CDs （存款单） to that guy. Take the sheiks money， you see？

Sydney： Only they cant get into his money unless they know someone， and that someone is us.

Richie觉得此计甚妙，立刻就接受了他们的建议。有意思的是，在一幅伦勃朗的名画前，Irving和Richie展开了一次无关主题却意味深长的对话。

Irving： I want to show you something. This Rembrandt here， people come from all over the world to see this.

Richie： Yeah， hes good. Yeah.

Irving： Its a fake.

Richie： What？ What are you talking about？ Thats impossible.

Irving： People believe what they want to believe. Cause the guy who made this was so good that its real to everybody. Now， whos the master？ The painter or the forger？

Richie： Thats a fake？

Irving： Thats the way the world works. Not black-and-white， like you say. Extremely gray.

这段对话于整个剧情而言可有可无，但却是导演刻意安排的点题之处。Irving显然话里有话，真实意图早在弦外。谁是真正的大师？原创者还是伪造者？你以为自己是设局的大师，可知螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后？你以正义的名义设局抓人，谁给了你判别黑与白、正义与邪恶的终决权？实际上Irving已经向Richie发出了一道警告，可惜头脑简单又被功利所迷惑的Richie哪里听得出弦外之音。

Irving三人本想通过阿拉伯酋长引出骗子，却从骗子口中意外得知新泽西州Camden市的市长Carmine Polito正雄心勃勃地要重振大西洋城却苦于缺乏资金。于是Richie决定把目光转向更大的目标——调查政府官员的贪腐问题，但这一计划却遭到了他的上司Stoddard Thorsen的强烈反对。在Stroddard看来，Richie的执法骗局不能针对政治人物，更何况Carmine Polito是一个广受爱戴的政治人物。事实证明，Carmine确实出身贫寒、清正廉明、一心为公、心怀大众。但Stoddard的苦心劝说并没有改变利令智昏的Richie，他认为：“With our help， he was about to have his hand in the wrong pocket at the wrong time. And to me， that meant corrupt.”就这样，一个正直的市长即将被糊里糊涂地拉下水。

金蝉

脱壳

在与Carmine Polito的交涉中，Irving与Carmine一见如故，成了好朋友。Carmine信任Irving，对投资自然也非常欢迎，不过他们还需要做一件事，那就是通过贿赂的方式尽快为投资人酋长取得美国公民身份。这样一来，又将有更多官员牵扯进这次钓鱼行动中。另一方面，他们还需要与黑帮合作，给他们1000万美元用于重建大西洋城的赌场。吃着碗里、盯着锅里的Richie的下一个目标，竟然是借机将黑帮头目Victor Tellegio和他的整个团伙一网打尽。

事态的发展让Irving深感恐惧，他深知他的好朋友Carmine将被无辜连累，而向黑帮大佬Tellegio动刀将使很多人面临险境，他意识到他必须想办法让所有无辜的人从中脱身。正当他苦于无计时，一个与这个骗局毫无瓜葛的人起到了意外的作用，那就是Irving的“天才”老婆Rosalyn。在这群聪明绝顶的骗子当中，Rosalyn是一个头脑简单、行为粗俗、充满极其不可预见性的女人，但她并不愚蠢。她虽然爱着Irving，但也知道她和Irving终不是一路人，她对Irving和Sydney的关系心知肚明，只不过暂时忍气吞声。在一场与黑帮分子的偶遇中，Rosalyn结识了黑帮成员Pete Musane。Pete对Rosalyn大献殷勤，让这个久未识爱滋味的女人迅速坠入情网。在一次与Pete幽会时，这个口无遮拦的女人竟然向Pete透露Irving受人指使，这引起了Pete的警觉，也成为整个案子的转折点。Pete绑架了Irving，以其性命相威胁要他说出实情。在万分恐惧中，Irving竟然急中生智，承诺先汇给Pete的老板Tellegio两百万美元，打算借此完成自己金蝉脱壳的计划。而FBI为了将Tellegio的组织一网打尽，同意拿出两百万美元。

Irving、Sydney和Richie三人来到Tellegio的律师Alfonse Simone的办公室与其交涉，并诱骗Alfonse供出了Tellegio团伙多年来见不得人的犯罪事实。

Alfonse： If we have to pay somebody off （收买某人）， well pay somebody off. If we have to lean on （威逼利诱） somebody， intimidate somebody， well intimidate somebody. Were experienced. This is our business.

Richie： Thats powerful stuff. Thank you.

Alfonse： And Ill tell you something else. At the end of this， well teach you how to skim （为了逃税而虚报赌博赢利、收入等） and how to cut it up and make some money on the side， because we invented skimming. Weve been doing it for 30 years.

在偷录下Alfonse的上述“罪供”后，Richie非常得意，亲自打电话把两百万美元汇了出去，同时也宣布自己导演的整个戏剧“完美”收场。他难以掩饰内心的狂喜，回到办公室后就和同事们一起举杯狂欢，为他未来不可限量的远大前程提前庆祝。然而，当Richie后来带人再次来到Alfonse的办公室准备抓人时，事情发生了最为戏剧性的变化：办公室还是原来的办公室，但里面的人已经完全换了，Alfonse这个人根本不存在。到底发生了什么？

原来Richie等三人到Tellegio的律师Alfonse办公室“诱供”这一场，不过是Irving和Sydney合作导演的最后一出戏，Alfonse的扮演者是他们的一位朋友。当Richie再次带人去抓捕Alfonse时，早已没有所谓的Alfonse，Richie汇出去的两百万自然也进不了Tellegio的账户，而是流进了Irving另设的账户里。欺骗Richie并不难，Irving和Sydney早就把Richie玩弄于股掌间。欺骗Richie也不是根本目的，而是为了完成Irving所设定的最终目标：终结这场骗局，让他的家人、Sydney、Carmine和自己全身而退。

由于Richie最后抓人扑了个空，两百万美元不翼而飞，Irving和Sydney被招呼到FBI的办公室。在三位FBI探员虎视眈眈的注目之下，Irving和Sydney从容完成了最后的谢幕表演。

Irving： Richie， you requested the two million. And you gave Brenda （FBI负责电汇的员工） the account number. We didnt do any of that. None of it. How do we know that you dont have the money？

Richie： Listen to me. Listen to me. Were dealing with a very clever individual. Dont let him …

Irving： Richie. Richie. Think about it， all right？ You got some big arrests. You got U.S. congressmen. You look good. Youre going to be all over the news. You know what doesnt look good？ A story about gross incompetence.

Sydney： You lost two million dollars of taxpayer money because you were confused about the location and the identity of Victor Tellegios attorney？ People believe what they want to believe， Richie.

Richie： No， because you conned me. Thats why， because you both fucking con ... You got under me. You did.

Irving： That doesnt sound so good， either， right there. You know， I mean I dont know what youre talking about， but lets just assume you want to go with that story. Really？ Thats the story you want to go with， all right？ Thats what you want the New York Times to hear？ That you got conned by the very con men who you forced to entrap （诱捕） the members of Congress in the first place？ Thats what you want to go with？ That doesnt sound so good for your whole thing， does it？ And how ironic that the ones who were working hardest to get the economy of New Jersey going， those are the ones that you round up （围捕）. And why？ Why？ Because， what， theyre the easiest to go after？ And what about the real bullshit artists？ You didnt even come close to the big leagues， those big guys， the money men. Im sorry to tell you， you got none of them.

事到如今，真相已经大白。Richie在最后一刻终于如梦初醒，在这场自己设计的骗局里，自己却最终成了被愚弄的人。虽然谁都知道Irving拿走了两百万，但他们却没有任何证据。他们甚至无法向媒体公布事实的真相，因为不仅要承认弄丢了纳税人的两百万美元，还必须承认他们并不光彩的钓鱼执法行为。而更为丢人的是，他们不得不自揭伤疤，承认堂堂的FBI探员最后被骗子愚弄。在这场骗局最后的摊牌中，Irving手上握有所有的筹码，但Richie手里却什么都没有。而FBI的高层为了要回两百万并保住自己的乌纱帽和颜面，自然会丢车保帅，让Irving和Sydney大摇大摆退场。而Tellegio那帮黑帮分子因为最后并没有沾手两百万美元，也免于法责，与Irving之间的恩怨也就两清。

弦外

之音

案子虽然结束了，但故事并没有结束，导演拉塞尔也并不只是想还原故事的经纬，而是引发观众更多的思考。英语中常说结果好就一切都好，然而这个案子的结果只能说是好坏参半。确实，Richie抓了一些贪赃枉法的人，但其中也有类似Carmine这种一心为振兴这个城市而奔走的人，只是在那种大环境里，百分之百的正当手段是行不通的。在这种背景下，如何去区分好人与坏人，如何在灰色地带厘清黑与白、是与非就不再是一两句话能说得清楚的事了。人们乐于当道德判官，但人们的道德评判也常常出错，因为我们的标准往往也是模糊的。

就Irving和他的两个女人而言，在故事的最后，他们各自修成正果。Rosalyn选择与黑帮情人Pete在一起，给自己和Sydney一条生路。Sydney成功上位，从此和Irving生活在一起。两人改邪归正，做起了正经买卖。在整个骗局中，他们三人更关注的不是正义与邪恶，而是生存和生活。正如Irving在影片末尾所说：“Our conning days were behind us. You can fool yourself for just so long， and then your next reinvention better have your damn feet on the ground. We got a loan from a bank and were able to go gallery-legitimate. The art of survival is a story that never ends.”

《美国骗局》获得第86届奥斯卡金像奖最佳影片、最佳导演、最佳原创剧本等十个奖项的提名，但并未获奖。在第71届金球奖颁奖典礼上，该片获得最佳音乐/喜剧片奖，其中Sydney的扮演者艾米·亚当斯（Amy Adams）获得音乐/喜剧片最佳女主角奖，Rosalyn的扮演者詹妮弗·劳伦斯（Jennifer Lawrence）也凭在影片中的出色演出获得最佳女配角奖，可以说是实至名归。