Loosely based on true events from the 1930s, David O. Russell’s newest film ‘Amsterdam’ follows two war veterans and a nurse they befriended during the Great War, who uncover a sinister political conspiracy pieced together by wealthy and powerful American fascists.
The film's ensemble cast, consisting of Christian Bale, John David Washington, Margot Robbie, Anya Taylor Joy, Rami Malek and even the legendary Robert de Niro, is, on one hand, one the films key redeeming qualities, but on the other hand, an area in which it falls short, as it feels at times reliant on these cameos and famous faces to stir a reaction in the audience. Although very expensive in the literal sense, the excessively large and well-known cast feels like a cheap and uninspired way of gaining traction for the movie and prompting gasps in the audience. Some of the famous faces stand out, like Bale, who carries much of the film on his back. His character Burt Berendsen is about as idiosyncratic as it gets, with a glass eye, Kramer from Seinfeld-esque hair and an underground medical practice he runs for veterans. Bale’s transformative method acting allows him to embody this character and deliver witty lines which elevate the film. The same can be said for other characters like Chris Rock’s Milton King or De Niro’s Gil Dillenbeck who provide some great comedic moments. There was one performance that stood out as much poorer than the rest, which was singer-songwriter Taylor Swift’s brief appearance. Her performance was lack lustre, and gave the impression that squeezing in as many famous names as possible in the credits was considered more important than the integrity of the film to the makers of it.
Some credit can be awarded to Russell’s writing, whose talent in that field has been clear since his 2012 hit ‘Silver Linings Playbook.’ The writing stirred a decent amount of emotion in the audience and some of the more peculiar moments had my friends and I turning to each other with perplexed expressions and asking ‘what have we actually come to see?’ which is something I enjoy when watching a film. The film is also aesthetically pleasing, with artistic montages and a colour pallet which makes it feel like a pastiche of Wes Anderson’s style. However, the story itself feels convoluted and the plot wonders off. The running time is a reasonable 134 minutes, but at times I felt it could be much shorter. There are many subplots and characters, and whilst they all intertwine, some of them feel unnecessary and don’t add much to the overall narrative.
‘Amsterdam’ sends a fairly weak message despite the heavy issues it deals with of fascism and racism. Apart from a tame and obvious message of ‘Nazis and overthrowing democracy is bad’, it doesn't say much beyond that and so doesn’t make much of a statement. The film ends with a nice but fairly out of the blue monologue from Burt Berendsen about love and friendship. When watching this in the cinema with two of your friends it is touching, however with hindsight, it feels slightly unoriginal and could be placed in the final moments of many other films.
This isn’t a film you should avoid watching. It’s entertaining, sentimental and taught me about an event in history I’d not come across before. I’d take a film like this, with some creative ambition and impressive acting, over a lot of other films released nowadays in the age of the Superhero Franchise!
‘Amsterdam’ is showing in cinemas across the UK. Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLs2xxM0e78
