I have very fond memories attached to David O. Russell, and his film Silver Linings Playbook. American Hustle is another film that I enjoy a great deal, so it goes without saying that I was incredibly excited when I heard of Amsterdam. Watching the trailer made my mind start running, and I eagerly awaited its theatrical release. Sadly, however, I was influenced by reviews and neglected to see it in theaters and instead waited for its HBO Max premiere. I’m glad I did.
Based on true-ish events, Amsterdam follows three friends, Valorie (Robbie), Burt (Bale), and Harold (Washington) as they witness a murder and become suspects. When working to prove their innocence, the three discover a ludicrous plot that would have altered American history. The film also features Michael Shannon and Mike Myers.
For a film that has such a rockstar cast, this is so incredibly boring. Dialogue-heavy sequences have an inherent risk of losing the audience, especially if the dialogue is exposition heavy like this film is. The film features long-winded sequences of dialogue between characters where it literally feels as though they sat us down to tell us the information. It is a strange experience. There is very little variety in the composition of shots, and the framing, on more than one occasion, felt like a novice was behind the camera. I kept waiting for the film to come out and say, “Here we go,” but it sadly never happened.
The story is even more of a snooze. A murder frame-up is normally movie gold, especially with an experienced director and writer at the helm. This story, however, is just confusing. The constant flashbacks, while interesting in some respects, feel more like a gimmick than anything else. A way to advance the runtime rather than the story. The “outrageous” plot that the film promises to explore isn’t all that outrageous to me. Maybe it’s because of all of the films I’ve seen over the years, but it felt pretty tame to me. Maybe I don’t fully understand the weight and significance of the plot, or how much of it is actually true. The film doesn’t really tell you what actually happened, except for a few throwaways at the end. To go along with that, the editing is another interesting area in which this film falls flat. There isn’t anything memorable or flashy about it, just a standard cut of a film. I wish there was something more, maybe a beautiful shot, match-cut, transition, something. There were also multiple times when the characters were speaking a different language and the dub-over was terrible. Just straight terrible.
A quick aside: There have been a lot of murder mysteries since Knives Out first graced screens, and this film seems to be making a comment on that or at least trying to. The clues that this film drops are so obvious that they feel like we’re supposed to see them, and I’m not sure I like it. Nothing major, but it stuck out enough for me to mention it.
The performances, unfortunately, are not enough to save the film from itself. John David Washington felt very stiff in this role, as though he was uncomfortable with the character. Margot Robbie’s character, to me, just wasn’t interesting at all. The relationship between her and Harold, while sweet, felt like nothing but a story beat and a way to keep the characters connected. The best performance of the entire film, by far, was Christian Bale. This should not come as a surprise at all, but Bale absolutely crushed it. He was sweet, endearing, funny, and any other kind of emotion that the scene called for. I found myself constantly watching him, even if he was in the background. Another really fun character was Michael Shannon’s, Henry.
Things often never live up to the hype, and Amsterdam never came close. Usually sharp, emotional, and funny, David O. Russell tries to emulate his past successes, but poor editing, strange dialogue, and a difficult story (among others) hold everything back. Unlike the quote above, this film was never alive. Despite the standard excellence from Christian Bale, so much of this film just doesn’t work. And it’s truly a shame because I was dying to see this one.
From Letterboxd: The same [referencing the above quote], unfortunately, cannot be said for this film. Despite a charming performance from Christian Bale, so much of this just simply doesn’t work. It’s really a shame, I was dying to see this one.
Amsterdam is available to stream on HBO Max.