To describe David O. Russell’s filmography as “uneven” is to put it delicately. His voice as a narrator has resulted in films with a spectacular incisiveness towards human nature -as in Three Kings (1999), The fighter (2010) and the games of destiny (2012)– and films with a lot to say about very little in reality –such as the terrible I Heart Huckabees (2004) and the uninteresting and very forgettable Joy: The name of success (2015)–. His new movie amsterdamis a narrative puzzle whose synopsis (and cast list) is infinitely more interesting than the film itself.
Let’s start with the first thing, what is it about on the surface and how many stars will we see? John David Washington and Christian Bale play two friends, World War I veterans, who are accused of murdering a woman (Taylor Swift). Her innocence is clear to us as the audience, and it seems that clearing her name will not require much effort, so the director rather takes us back in time and learn more about her friendship. It began in the trenches, or rather, in the hospital where they both arrived after being wounded in combat.
There they also meet the character of Chris Rock; Margot Robbie’s and, through her, eventually her brother (Rami Malek) and her partner (Anya Taylor-Joy). Over there in the original timeline (the murder one), we will meet a forensic doctor (Zoe Saldaña), the investigators (one is Michael Shannon, the other is Mike Myers) and an ex-military man with unquestionable values (Robert De Niro) who It will not only help clear the names of our heroes, but also uncover a fascist conspiracy whose parallels to the current political situation in the United States are unfolded with a stunning lack of subtlety.
Putting together narrative puzzles is not something new for Russell, who in 2013 showed off with American Scandala film that lucidly transports from the underworld of the mob, to FBI investigations and the derailed life of a professional con man.
That film, like the director’s most successful works, has an element that here he seems to have completely forgotten: characters. Amsterdam is a movie with many stars, yes, but more than characters, these Hollywood luminaries seem to represent archetypes or outlines of ideas that David O. Russell is very keen to talk about. The script then tries to compensate for this lack of three-dimensionality in the characters with “curious” details and quirks. (The precise word I’m looking for is “quirks«, but the dictionary says that this does not exist in Spanish).
So, with that lack of characters that are interesting beyond what they do and what they say, the only thing left for us is to hope that the plot is interesting enough. It is not. As a viewer one is constantly wondering what is happening and why it is happening. There are movies that work for that very reason, but this confusion in the hands of someone like Charlie Kaufman or David Lynch feels purposeful, not an unfortunate side effect.
All this is not to say that amsterdam be an entirely disposable film: it has its moments. There are not many, but there are moments of brilliance that are only perceived as longing for a promise that the film never manages to fulfill. Here “the blame” should be laid on the edition, on the infatuation with the ideas of a director known for his selfish explosions, who did not know when he had already said enough.
As an extra note and just because this should always be celebrated: the work of “El Chivo” Lubezki in photography, as always, is exceptional.
Due to the health crisis caused by COVID-19, at Cine PREMIERE we recommend that you review the necessary health measures with the health authorities (especially the General Guidelines for the mitigation and prevention of COVID-19 in closed public spaces) before going to the cinema to watch a movie.
J. Ivan Morales Writer, film director, and editorial director at this, your friendly neighbor film publication, Cine PREMIERE. He will never give up hope for a second season of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Firefly.