Bursting onto the filmmaking scene with an uncomfortable, but darkly comic examination of mother-son incest, David O. Russell quickly developed a reputation for being one of the most original and forward-looking directors working in Hollywood. The splash he made with “Spanking the Monkey” (1994) opened the doors wide for Russell, who became one of those rare talents to gain studio backing for highly-personal and risky films that typically generated rave reviews, but little profit. After the toned-down sophomore effort, “Flirting with Disaster” (1996), he scored a large-scale success with
