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Amsterdam (2022)
Five time oscar nominated director and screenwriter David O Russell puts a lot of work into 2022's Amsterdam, a big budget, star-studded epic of murder and political conspiracy that struggles to retain viewer interest due to an overly complex screenplay, a norm for Russell and lethargic direction, not a norm for Russell.
As he did with American Hustle, Russell lets us know immediatey that "some of this really happened." Bert Berendsen (Christian Bale) and Harold Woodman (John David Washington) were soldiers and friends during WWI who meet a beautiful nurse named Valerie (Margot Robbie) in the title city and have a hard time defining their relationship. After the war, Bert becomes a doctor and Harold becomes a lawyer and become separated from Valerie. Bert has been asked to perform an autopsy on his former commanding officer (Ed Begley Jr) by his daughter, Liz (Taylor Swift). Before they can complete the autopsy, Liz is pushed in front of a car and killed and Bert and Harold are accused of the crime. The battle to clear their names of the crime leads them to a political conspiracy of mammoth proportions involving another WWI General (Robert De Niro).
Russell's story starts off as a standard murder mystery that initially confuses because we see Liz's murder and know that Bert and Harold are innocent and can't figure out how they are being railroaded for it. The story then flashes back to WWI and shows us how Bert and Harold met, a story move that was unnecessary because Bert and Harold's relationship didn't really need the clarification that Russell thought it did. As the pair begin looking into these murders, they are unexpectedly reunited with Valerie, who now has all these mental health issues that weren't even hinted at when the trio met in Amsterdam that hinder Bert and Harold's mission, but they don't seem to care. The complex relationship between the three reminded me of Butch, Sundance, and Etta Place in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and was, frankly, a lot more interesting than the primary story. I did like the fact that the black guy got the girl and there wasn't a lot of screentime wasted on racism.
Russell's leisurely unfolding of this story is really to the film's detriment, primarily due to unnecessary flashbacks and brief fantasy sequences that really don't add anything to the story. Russell's direction is snail-paced, making this film seem seven hours long. The sequence where the trio confront De Niro's character and we learn that Valerie is suffering from vertigo go on much too long as well as the reveal of the political faction that wants De Niro's character's assistance in their own government takeover.
Russell does put his budget to effective use in crafting the ethereal look of the film, an often dreamy look that made this reviewer think that we were eventually going to have a "and then I woke up" scene that never happened. The camerawork is crisp and concise and the cinematography, art design, and costumes are all Oscar-worthy. Christian Bale offers another of his one-of-a-kind characterizations as Berendsen, losing himself, as always, in a character where he reminded me of Peter Falk's Columbo. Washington and Robbie produced a surprising chemistry that I didn't see coming as well. Stars pop up throughout in supporting roles that serve the story, including Michael Shannon, Rami Malek (superb), Anya Taylor-Joy, Zoe Saldana, Mike Meyers, Chris Rock, Timothy Olyphant, and Colleen Camp. There are some terrific performances and Russell employs some style in his execution, but the story takes WAY too long to get where it goes.
Five time oscar nominated director and screenwriter David O Russell puts a lot of work into 2022's Amsterdam, a big budget, star-studded epic of murder and political conspiracy that struggles to retain viewer interest due to an overly complex screenplay, a norm for Russell and lethargic direction, not a norm for Russell.
As he did with American Hustle, Russell lets us know immediatey that "some of this really happened." Bert Berendsen (Christian Bale) and Harold Woodman (John David Washington) were soldiers and friends during WWI who meet a beautiful nurse named Valerie (Margot Robbie) in the title city and have a hard time defining their relationship. After the war, Bert becomes a doctor and Harold becomes a lawyer and become separated from Valerie. Bert has been asked to perform an autopsy on his former commanding officer (Ed Begley Jr) by his daughter, Liz (Taylor Swift). Before they can complete the autopsy, Liz is pushed in front of a car and killed and Bert and Harold are accused of the crime. The battle to clear their names of the crime leads them to a political conspiracy of mammoth proportions involving another WWI General (Robert De Niro).
Russell's story starts off as a standard murder mystery that initially confuses because we see Liz's murder and know that Bert and Harold are innocent and can't figure out how they are being railroaded for it. The story then flashes back to WWI and shows us how Bert and Harold met, a story move that was unnecessary because Bert and Harold's relationship didn't really need the clarification that Russell thought it did. As the pair begin looking into these murders, they are unexpectedly reunited with Valerie, who now has all these mental health issues that weren't even hinted at when the trio met in Amsterdam that hinder Bert and Harold's mission, but they don't seem to care. The complex relationship between the three reminded me of Butch, Sundance, and Etta Place in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and was, frankly, a lot more interesting than the primary story. I did like the fact that the black guy got the girl and there wasn't a lot of screentime wasted on racism.
Russell's leisurely unfolding of this story is really to the film's detriment, primarily due to unnecessary flashbacks and brief fantasy sequences that really don't add anything to the story. Russell's direction is snail-paced, making this film seem seven hours long. The sequence where the trio confront De Niro's character and we learn that Valerie is suffering from vertigo go on much too long as well as the reveal of the political faction that wants De Niro's character's assistance in their own government takeover.
Russell does put his budget to effective use in crafting the ethereal look of the film, an often dreamy look that made this reviewer think that we were eventually going to have a "and then I woke up" scene that never happened. The camerawork is crisp and concise and the cinematography, art design, and costumes are all Oscar-worthy. Christian Bale offers another of his one-of-a-kind characterizations as Berendsen, losing himself, as always, in a character where he reminded me of Peter Falk's Columbo. Washington and Robbie produced a surprising chemistry that I didn't see coming as well. Stars pop up throughout in supporting roles that serve the story, including Michael Shannon, Rami Malek (superb), Anya Taylor-Joy, Zoe Saldana, Mike Meyers, Chris Rock, Timothy Olyphant, and Colleen Camp. There are some terrific performances and Russell employs some style in his execution, but the story takes WAY too long to get where it goes.