David O. Russell’s ‘Amsterdam’ Is An All-Star Delight

Amsterdam (2022)

_{New Regency/rated R/134 minutes/$80 million}

_{Written and directed by David O. Russell}

_{Starring Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Chris Rock, Anya-Taylor Joy, Zoe Saldana, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Timothy Olyphant, Andrea Riseborough, Taylor Swift, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alessandro Nivola, Rami Malek and Robert De Niro}

_{Cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki}

_{Edited by Jay Cassidy}

_{Music by Daniel Pemberton}

_{Opening theatrically courtesy of Walt Disney
DIS
on October 7}

David O. Russell’s Amsterdam is a surprise delight, both in terms of a filmmaker whose star-studded concoctions generally leave me cold and in terms of the kind of ‘just a movie’ Hollywood popcorn flick that used to be the industry’s bread and butter. It is, commercial hopes and awards season potential be damned, an $80 million dramedy filled with game movie stars (Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, etc.) relishing the chance to tear into a big movie about important past = prologue subject matter that isn’t a franchise flick or stuffy year-end melodrama. It is light on its feet as it loosely retells a critical but mostly forgotten chapter of American history. It’s too long, and the third act becomes painfully redundant, but it mostly excels as a top-flight studio programmer.

Opening theatrically this Thursday evening, 20th Century Studios’ Amsterdam takes off with the momentum of a speeding bullet, plunging us into the lives of Dr. Burt Berendsen (Bale) and Harold Woodman (Washington). Both are World War I vets; the good doctor lost an eye in combat while his lifelong pal had to fight in a French uniform since the American forces remained unintegrated. Right now, Woodman is a lawyer while Berendsen fixes the disfigured faces of fellow veterans (while high on experimental painkillers), and an opportunity for a high-paying gig comes in the form of an autopsy request from the daughter (Taylor Swift) of a deceased U.S. senator. Things take a turn, our pals find themselves on the run, and the film dives back into the past to bring us up to speed.

The film never really regains the super-charged momentum of those first twenty minutes, even if it’s clear that O. Russell would rather take his time with these characters and this world. The prologue perhaps sets false impressions about how the rest of the film will unfold. This isn’t a thrill-a-minute mystery but a lazy river movie (think, offhand, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood). The pleasures are rooted in strong production values, a terrific ensemble cast (including a career-best Margot Robbie performance as a quirky, sympathetic wartime nurse who becomes a lifelong friend) delivering some top-shelf work. The characters remain the focus even as the slow-building plot evolves from simple whodunnit to global conspiracy. Not unlike American Hustle, Amsterdam concerns a few relative nobodies who find themselves becoming crucial figures in American history, which is partially the point.

Robbie pops in when the film flashes back to wartime, as Valorie Voze treats both wounded warriors and helps them hightail it to Amsterdam for a period of post-war nirvana. Valerie and Harold take a liking to each other, which makes sense since Robbie and Washington are both charismatic and drop-dead gorgeous performers. At the same time, Burt yearns for the approval of his wife (Andrea Riseborough) and her wealthy family. The film initially coasts on its character-specific pleasures. The plot kicks back in when the duo gets mixed up in a present-tense (early 1930s) murder. If you don’t know the history, you don’t need any more. The slow-building peril eventually concerns Robert De Niro as an esteemed Major General and various quirky characters played by Zoe Saldana, Chris Rock, Rami Malek, Anya-Taylor Joy, Michael Shannon and Mike Myers.

Amsterdam is a rollicking good time with good company amid Judy Decker’s scrumptious period piece production design. It’s a reminder of how big a Hollywood movie can look and feel when it has a big budget that isn’t mostly taken up with fx-driven spectacle, even if its budget would have made it commercially perilous in 2012, let alone 2022. Emmanuel Lubezki lends prestige and gravitas to the comic farce, while the film excels above all as an acting treat. It’s a blast watching some of today’s best and brightest flourish under one of the last directors who can still get this kind of movie made for this kind of budget in Hollywood. The film is unquestionably important without drowning in its present-tense relevance, excelling as an old-school, adult-skewing entertainment. Warts and all, I kind of loved it.