Amsterdam review

AMSTERDAM: 

LATEST DAVID O. RUSSELL CAPER MISSES ITS MARK DESPITE AN EXCELLENT CAST! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: ** out of 4

20^TH CENTURY STUDIOS

Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington in Amsterdam

 

            Writer-director, David O. Russell (The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle) travels to Amsterdamin his first feature film since 2015’s Joy. The film is inspired by the Business Plot political conspiracy of the 1930s in the United States to overthrow the government of Franklin D. Roosevelt and install a dictator. 

            Whatever you think of David O. Russell as a person, you can’t deny the fact the man has made some incredible films throughout his career with The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook, and American Hustle being among some of the best films I’ve seen in their respective years. With that said, he’s no stranger to films that don’t quite stick the landing, I Heart Huckabees and Joy are pretty divisive among audiences and critics. 

            Which brings us to Amsterdam, I was excited for this movie just by the names attached to it and that it was Russell’s first film in seven years. Also, the fact it was a mystery-comedy which sounds perfect for him given his directing style on films like American Hustle.

            I came into the film hoping it would have a similar quality as See How They Run, another mystery-comedy released a few weeks ago. It’s…not as good as that film sadly. 

            While I wouldn’t call Amsterdam a horrible movie, it feels very misguided in the end with an inconsistent and overstuffed narrative. It’s an example of all the pieces being there but ultimately falling apart when trying to put it all together. 

            Set in 1933, the film follows three friends consisting of doctor and war veteran Burt Berendsen (Christian Bale-American Psycho, The Dark Knight trilogy, Ford v. Ferrari), lawyer and also war veteran Harold Woodsman (John David Washington-Ballers, BlacKkKlansman, Tenet), and nurse Valerie Voze (Margot Robbie-The Wolf of Wall Street,DC Extended Universe, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) who traveled from Amsterdam to New York City each with their own aspirations. But when a young woman is suddenly murdered with Burt and Harold being framed for it, the two of them with the help of Valerie must do everything they can to prove their innocence only to find themselves caught in the middle of one of the most shocking secret plots in American history. 

            The film also stars Chris Rock (Dogma, The Longest Yard (2005), Top Five) as Milton King, Anya Taylor-Joy (Last Night in Soho, The Northman, The Menu) as Libby Voze, Zoe Saldaña (Star Trek franchise, Avatar 1 and 2, Marvel Cinematic Universe) as Irma St. Clair, Mike Myers (Wayne’s World 1 and 2, Austin Powers trilogy, Shrekfranchise) as Paul Canterbury, Michael Shannon (Premium Rush, Man of Steel, Midnight Special) as Henry Norcross, Timothy Olyphant (Scream 2, Live Free or Die Hard, Hitman) as Tarim Milfax, Andrea Riseborough (Oblivion, Birdman, Battle of the Sexes) as Beatrice Vandenheuvel, Taylor Swift (The Lorax, Cats, Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions) as Elizabeth Meekins, Matthias Schoenaerts (The Danish Girl, Red Sparrow, The Mustang) as Det. Lem Getwiller, Alessandro Nivola (Jurassic Park III, The Many Saints of Newark, Kraven the Hunter) as Det. Hiltz, Rami Malek (Mr. Robot, Bohemian Rhapsody, No Time to Die) as Tom Voze, and Robert De Niro (The Godfather: Part II, Goodfellas, Joker) as Gil Dillenbeck. 

            Overall, Amsterdam is an unfortunate step backwards for David O. Russell despite an excellent cast and a handful of entertaining moments. It’s a shame because there is a good movie somewhere in here and had the script been given another rewrite, I think we could have gotten a film on par with American Hustle, but as is it’s just a pale imitation of what this director used to do so greatly. 

            The biggest problem for me is that the plot is very unfocused, I’m all for a complex mystery that keeps my interest and has me on the edge of my seat as it’s being unfolded. But not when the narrative constantly gets sidetracked with random subplots that don’t go anywhere and underdeveloped side characters that appear for their singular purpose and then leave to the point where you forget what the main plot is about. 

            For about the first 20 minutes, I was with the movie enough but then somewhere after that it just lost me. Honestly, if it weren’t for the cast (Which is great and the actors are clearly putting a lot of effort into their performances!) and a handful of individual scenes that are entertaining to watch, I probably would have walked out and watched See How They Run a second time, at least that had better pacing, plot structure, and compelling characters. 

            Amsterdam may not be one of the absolute worst films I’ve seen so far this year, but it accompanies Don’t Worry Darling as one of the biggest disappointments of the year. Despite the talents both in front of and behind the camera, this is an unfocused and underwhelming mess that pales in comparison to most of the director’s other films, sorry Russell, better luck next time.