Rating: 3.5/5
“Amsterdam,” released on Oct. 7, 2022, and directed by David O. Russell follows doctor Bert Berendsen (Christian Bale), nurse Valerie Voze (Margot Robbie), and lawyer Harold Woodsman (John David Washington) in a comedic murder mystery set in the 1930s. The film follows the trio’s past, from when they met fighting in World War I and their subsequent bonding in Amsterdam to their present lives in New York City. The majority of the film revolves around their attempt to uncover the convoluted mystery behind the murder they witness and are later suspected for. The storyline is based on the 1933 Business Plot, which was a supposed political conspiracy to overthrow President Roosevelt.
The premise of this film was interesting enough, and with the $80 million budget and star-studded cast, it seemed to be a solid Oscar contender. However, with the poor critical reception and controversy surrounding Russell’s sexual assault allegations, the film failed to draw an audience and became a box office flop on its opening weekend. Despite the high budget, “Amsterdam” made a mere $6 million when it opened domestically, and is predicted to have upwards of a hundred-million dollar loss in profits, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The largest drawback of the movie was the writing, in terms of both story and script. The plot is slow, unoriginal, and peppered with predictable twists. The attempt to combine an elaborate murder mystery with a comedic tone was executed poorly and ended up hurting the overall plot, leaving it feeling too muddled and inconstant. The dialogue was similarly drawn out, with every conversation feeling too boring or confusing. Though funny at certain moments, the dry humor often led to characters sounding almost nonsensical when bantering. Additionally, the two-hour run time was too long for the story, which could allow the audience to easily become uninterested after the first hour.
The production was visually impressive, with realistic sets and well-executed costuming. The cinematography was adequate, save for the recurring extreme closeup shots that proved to be slightly distracting. The inconsistent voiceover narration felt unnecessary and ended the film with a cheesy moral that came off as superficial and misplaced. But in the end, the visuals didn’t disappoint, and it was clear that more effort was put into the visual production than any other aspect of the film, even if the style wasn’t novel.
Though the script lacked intrigue, the cast was able to salvage the film with acting. The actors performed the characters well enough to keep the audience engaged – making it easy to root for the more eccentric characters like Berendsen and Voze because they were played with enough charisma to mask the fact that their dialogue was terribly uninteresting. Ultimately, the entirety of the experience boiled down to watching conventionally attractive actors in vintage costumes do nothing, which begs the question of whether the film was made to provoke audiences or to offer mindless entertainment.
The failure of the movie lies clearly in its budgeting, seeing as the filmmakers decided that an all-star cast was more important than skilled writers were. While “Amsterdam” is not a bad movie, it will definitely be forgotten quickly – and if you truly have nothing else to watch, it’s a solid pick to put on before you fall asleep.