David O’Russell, the Oscar nominated director behind American Hustle and Silver linings Playbook, returns with this star studded 1930’s comedy-drama about two friends who witness a murder and are then framed for it.
Christian Bale and John David Washington star as friends Burt and Harold, old army buddies who together with their friend Valerie (Margot Robbie), set about proving their innocence, and in doing so uncover one of the most outrageous plots in American history.
Bale, channeling Peter Faulk’s Columbo as the one eye’d army medic turned sleuth, is by far the films stand out performance. Washington’s stoic turn is made to look stilted in comparison.
An opening title card reading ‘A lot of this really happened’, sets out the films stall, as writer / director O’Russell once again weaves real life events into a fictional story.
Set in the time between the two world wars, things start promisingly. Burt and Harold are asked to perform an autopsy on Bill Meakins, the former head of their regiment, by the mans daughter (Pop star Taylor Swift) who is convinced her father was murdered.
A gasp inducing twist then leaves the pair on the run from the police and accused of murder. It’s here, that the film takes a breather to fill in the characters army backstory via flashback, and Robbie’s character Valerie Voze is introduced. The eccentric Nurse tends to the pair after they are wounded in battle and the trio form a strong bond, eventually travelling to Amsterdam together, where they enjoy solace from the horrors of war.
Val eventually re-emerges in the present day as the film picks up where it left off, but by then much of the films momentum has been lost.
The plot begins to meander all over the place, incorporating various characters and story threads, but despite some excellent performances and the high calibre of talent on display (Robert De Niro, Anya Taylor-Joy, Michael Shannon, Rami Malek and Zoe Saldana to name just a few) the film becomes virtually impossible to follow.
As Margot Robbie delivers the powerful line ‘The dream repeats itself since it forgets itself’ and the narrative begins to encapsulate the real life conspiracy of shady business men attempting to overthrow the government, its scarily topical themes should be captivating viewing, but they aren’t. Instead bewildered viewers will be longing for the film to end.
A beautifully designed production, Amsterdam looks exquisite, but is unfortunately a case of style over substance.
A madcap tragi-comic caper which blends history with satire, but has a real problem finding the right tone and tries to cram far too much into its runtime. The result is a film with a borderline incoherent narrative, which fails to add up to the sum of its parts.
⭐️⭐️
Paul Steward
@grittster
7/10/22