AMSTERDAM

I definitely didn't hate Amsterdam. Parts of the film I even really liked. But one can only describe the movie as a mess.

Don't you hate it when a movie starts out so promisingly and then slowly unravels, until just frustration about all the missed opportunities remains? Amsterdam is such a picture.

The movie begins as an intriguing murder mystery in thirties New York that is equal parts a homage and a pastiche of film noir. But once the first flashback hits, the film is in trouble, as writer-director David O. Russell gets so invested in an assortment of cute but inconsequential anecdotes that he loses track of the fact that he actually has a main storyline going on.

Distracting too is the overload of famous actors in Amsterdam, which jolts you out of the narrative every time a big name makes his or her entrance. While the production design is second to none and the main theme of the film is actually quite interesting, you also get a feeling that Russell is content with playing fast and loose instead of really sculpting the picture into a compelling whole.

I definitely didn't hate Amsterdam. Parts of the film I even really liked. But one can only describe the movie as a mess.

release: 2022

director: David O. Russell

starring: Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Robert De Niro