Courtesy 20th Century Studios
Whereas Amsterdam, the newest from director/writer David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle), begins its madcap dash through subterfuge, love and a bit of real-life American history feeling a bit like Wes Anderson-meets-Jean-Pierre Jeunet by way of the Coen Brothers, it does manage to eke out its own identity by the time the credits roll. And it’s a fun one, with its star-studded cast clearly having a fantastic time working together and its messaging landing soundly when it all comes together.
Amsterdam tells the tale of Burt Berendsen (Christian Bale), a doctor from meager beginnings whose very wealthy in-laws arranged for him to fight during World War I in an apparent bid to cancel out his being half-Jewish for their society friends. Burt escapes the front by losing an eye and, along the way, becomes lifelong friends with a fellow soldier named Harold (John David Washington). Together, they take up with a mysterious American artist (Margot Robbie) in Amsterdam after they’re discharged, and here Russell’s script shines in a utopian orgy of singing, dancing, arts and kinship. Blissful, warm lighting highlights the unearthly delights of living for love and art; here, we come to empathize with Burt’s plight, particularly that of his socialite wife and her mucky-muck family.
But all good things must end, and some years after the war and Amsterdam, Burt and Harold—who becomes an attorney post-war—find themselves back in America, hired by the daughter (Taylor Swift) of their old commanding general to investigate her father’s death. Something suspicious is going down in New York City, and it smells a lot like fascism. Finding themselves accused of murder and on the run, Burt and Harold must delve into the conflicting worlds of money, industry, the military and society to clear their names.
Bale, as always, stretches into his role with aplomb, though he’s much funnier here than he usually gets to play. It works well against Washington’s more straight-man approach, though the latter actor gets laughs, too. When Robbie joins the fray, it’s a master class in chemistry, though she seems to have that with everyone.
Russell, meanwhile, gets points for pulling the underlying conundrum of the film from a terrifying chapter of real history that went down in the lead-up to World War II (no spoilers, but yes, the thing really happened), but he does lean pretty heavily into white savior tropes he could easily have sidestepped. Instead of consistently reminding us Burt’s a good guy because he’s the kind of doctor who’ll treat Black veterans and says things like, “How could I not?” maybe he could have let those actions speak for themselves? It’s too bad, too, that Chris Rock joins the cast to spout off throwaway joke lines when he’s proven he can truly act over and over; there’s even a tacked-on love story between Bale and Zoe Saldaña that feels...half-baked at best. Same goes for appearances from Michael Shannon and, for some reason, Mike Myers.
All the same, Amsterdam does find its footing by its final funny moments, and small roles filled by Rami Malek and Robert DeNiro just plain work. And it sticks it to the rich, which is always fun. Of course, studio films calling evil on folks with too much money always feels sort of strange, doesn’t it? Ah, well, Amsterdam is still a fun film with a bristling momentum and some fine performances. What more can we ask for these days?
7
+Fun and fast-paced; central cast delightful together
-Hammy moments; pointless side love story
Amsterdam
Directed by Russell
With Bale, Washington and Robbie
Violet Crown, Regal, R, 134 min.
