I am not going to lie; this movie got lost in the shuffle for me. So when I learned it was coming out, I was shocked since I had heard nothing about it. A new film by David O. Russell (whose popularity, respectively popularity of his movies, I will never understand no matter how hard I try) with such a stacked cast? How have I not heard about it until it was coming out and receiving all these horrible reviews? But based on the box office earnings (just shy over $31 million on a budget of an estimated $80 million is anything but good), I was not the only person who had not heard of it until it was too late. So imagine my other surprise when I found Amsterdam on Disney+ (at least in the UK). And I wanted to know how bad this film could be. And to my surprise… not the worst O. Russell film I’ve seen, and that coming from me, that’s a win.
One thing can’t be understated if it wasn’t for such an impressive cast of actors who know what they were doing, this would have gone sideways sooner than you can say: “Oh shit, Amsterdam lost the studio almost $100 million!” But instead of listing every A-list actor who appears here, let me just name the ones who, for me, uplifted or saved this film. Margot Robbie, John David Washington and Anya Taylor-Joy. Margot seems to be coming into her own as the next big superstar, and she effortlessly lights up this film. Her chemistry with John David was also believable and a big part of my enjoyment of this movie. He also had an intriguing character; I only wished the movie would give him a bit more to do throughout it. And Anya… I didn’t even know she was in this film, so the moment she appeared, I was happy. And then her character went through the motions (mainly her fascination/worship of Robert De Niro‘s character), and she saved the second half of this film.
Why saved? Because Amsterdam‘s biggest issue is its length and pacing. This film had no business being over 130 minutes long. For me, that’s one of my issues with O. Russell’s films in general; I found his director style boring, predictable and overly convoluted. This film, for example, has a simple story that was told in the most convoluted way possible with a bunch of A-list actors playing, at times, almost cameo roles. That could work in limited doses but not when your film pushes over 130 minutes of a story that should and could have been told in 100 minutes, maybe even less. Because there is only so much great actors can do if your film is too long, and that’s why Anya Taylor-Joy and her quirkiness (that is not as quirky by the end of the film, but oh well ;-)) came at the right time to uplift the movie, and literally drag it across the finish line on her tiny frame. Her dedication to this unique character she portrayed only highlights she is the one to look out for; honestly can’t wait to see her as Furiosa (2024) as the titular character.
It is a shame that the film was panned critically and wasn’t seen by many as the story (the true element of the story) is fascinating, timely and chilling. It is fascinating how powerful people can play these high-stakes “games” with little to no repercussions. Some things never change, and frustratingly, this story should be seen by people. I don’t understand why this one specifically flopped so hard, whether the fact this was O. Russell’s first film since Joy (2015) and many “forgot” about him, or they didn’t care about the story despite the cast, or maybe the marketing was not there…? It’s bizarre to me as I would say Amsterdam, despite all its flaws, is still a solid film and, in my eyes, definitely one of his better ones.
I can’t help but wonder whether O. Russell was the “correct” choice of director for a movie like this. Imagine the same cast and a similar enough script in the hands of somebody who can do compelling “based on an actual event” stories. Imagine somebody like Martin Scorsese or Jeff Nichols and their take on this story with this cast. Quite honestly, the more I think about Amsterdam, the more confused I get by not understanding how this film could have crushed and burned so badly.
Overall, Amsterdam is not as bad as the first reviews made it out to be. Yes, the film is too long and told in a sometimes frustrating manner, but the cast of talented actors (mostly) saves the day. It’s a hard film to recommend to somebody, despite its star-studded cast, this won’t be for everybody. And maybe that’s the lesson of this film’s failure – the cast can only do so much. We no longer live in the age where movie stars bring people into the cinemas; you need to excite people way more because now, every film competes with the comfort of their own home and thousands of movies/shows the average movie fan has at their disposal. Maybe this should have never been an $80 million film, or maybe Amsterdam would have worked better as a limited show. Either way, it’s here, it’s decent, and it’s up to you whether you want to spend over 130 minutes of your life watching it. I would, very cautiously, recommend it, just for the performances alone.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Until next time,
Luke