Movie Review
Amsterdam, unlike his decorated filmography, doesn’t have much to offer even in this quality. Considering the names, it’s pretty amazing how Russell managed to pull this off. He is not known for his accuracy and attention, sometimes he gets lost in his dream world. But with Amsterdam it is a consistent failure.
Clocking in at around 134 minutes, this period drama feels tiresome and random rather than enigmatic and charming. Maybe that’s what Russell originally intended, but Amsterdam ends up too far. It’s a chaotic end product that just doesn’t work.
Fairy Tale
Given the amazing nature of the fairy tale that Amsterdam brings to life, this reality is truly unfortunate. Incredibly, the plot revolves around the real-world bombshell revelations by the late US Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler about a planned coup to install a dictator in the US. After the Great Depression of 1929, President Roosevelt, who led the United States out of difficult economic conditions, became the target of frustrated industrialists.
These powerful men wanted to emulate the example of European tyrants like Mussolini and Hitler. Both Italy and Germany saw business flourish, even at the cost of human life. The Committee of Five wanted Rossevell gone and Butler to the White House, as Amsterdam speculated about the group behind the assassination.
It all started when three innocent veterans of the First World War were accused of murdering the daughter of a retired general, which they did not commit. Christian Bale (Burt), John David Washington (Harold) and Margot Robbie (Valerie) play the trio and are the protagonists in most parts. Although Russell claims that Amsterdam is a retelling, one would be inclined not to think so if they went into the film blind without knowing the background of the assassination.
The director leaves it too late for the revelation to have a sensational effect on the audience. Instead, it chooses to focus on the trio and how they navigate personal issues and challenges. This creative choice, in retrospect, derails the story and creates no momentum leading up to the climax for the big reveal.
Drawbacks
Amsterdam, to put it simply, lacks showmanship and laziness. The fine craftsmanship we’ve come to expect from Russell is missing here. His choices make the movie-watching experience dull and tedious. It’s very appealing to a modern audience accustomed to YouTube shorts and Netflix. The problem with Amsterdam is that the trio’s intimate moments together backfire. Those moments seem arbitrary and somewhat unnecessary given what the film is about. As we cut to a flashback to the war, Amsterdam begins to lose steam. From there, the big build up to the start of the flashback, a flashback is very difficult. Taylor Swift plays an impressive cameo as Liz Meekins. It was surprising to see him in a big commercial film.
Anya Taylor-Joy and Rami Malek play the important roles of the Vozé couple, but after such a lukewarm introduction, they easily become enemies in the eyes of the audience. Russell pretends that Tom (Malek) is the one behind the conspiracy; that he pulls the chains throughout, but it comes off as an attempt to compensate for the over-sensation. That work and tonal shift should have come much sooner than the last 10 minutes of the film.
In fact, for Russell, the thought of Amsterdam coming together at the last moments with Bale’s voice is just wishful thinking and nothing more. It feels like a very empty and cheap attempt to cover up the royal mess of the previous 122 minutes. Even if Russell had an extra hour to straighten things out, one can’t put sand on an unfocused narrative.
Ending
In the end, what was supposed to be the biggest movie of the year fell agonizingly short. For all the unstoppable talent at Russell’s disposal, he manages to restrain the impact that misdirected priorities can have in a terrifying collapse. The director did the unthinkable by wasting what could have been the highlight of his illustrious career.
