Writer/director David O. Russell returns to the big screen with a star studded comedic mystery film that mixes a semi-forgotten historical incident with comedy and an emotional look at finding what it is that powers a good life. Amsterdam takes us to 1930s New York City, as World War I veterans Burt Berendsen (Christian Bale) and Harold Woodman (John David Washington) are hired by Liz Meekins (Taylor Swift), the daughter of respected General and founder of their former military regimen Bill Meekins (Ed Bagley Jr.), to do an autopsy of her father who she suspects was murdered. After having their friend Irma St. Clair (Zoe Saldaña) conducted the autopsy, the pair meet up with Liz who now fears for her life after being warned not to dig deeper into what happened. While speaking to Liz a mystery man pushes her into traffic and frames Burt and Harold for it. Now prime suspects and targets of a shadowy organization, they must uncover the truth of who killed the Meekins and why.
Amsterdam starts off as a mystery that establishes itself well and gradually reveals its layers well, creating intrigue in its direction and investment in its unveiling and conclusion. The audience is immediately thrown into the mystery at the center of the two murders with our main characters forced to flee and set on a path toward trying to clear their names. Once the hook of the circumstances is set, Russell takes us on a flashback to introduce to the characters and create investment in their well-being, complementing the interest in the uncovering the mystery. This back to back serving of connection with the characters and story is well paced and provides the perfect platform for the main cast to display their charm and chemistry. The fact that it begins so engrossingly makes a second act section that slows down to establish more of the story and introduce new characters that much more noticeable. Once we return from the flashback of the trio’s time in Amsterdam during World War I, the pacing is interrupted and the film loses some of its momentum. The payoff of what this part of the story establishes does arrive by the time we reach its climax, but it takes a while to regain the pull the film begins with.
Amsterdam also manages to thread a needle that has seemingly perplexed modern filmmakers by being topical in the story that it tells without sacrificing the quality of the storytelling and the film itself. This movie is based on the true life story of General Smedley Butler and the attempted coup against President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the early 1930s. The parallels between this history of the nexus of business oligarchs, strongman leaders, and the fight for power between democratic rule and authoritarianism and our current sociopolitical climate is obvious, but Russell leads the audience there through the story of the mystery, not through making the political statement about our world the centerpiece of the film with the mystery of General Meekins and his daughter’s deaths.
The strength of this film emanates from its principal cast of Bale, Washington, and Margot Robbie, who plays Valerie Voze, a former nurse during the war who befriended both Burt and Harold and fell in love with Burt. The three remain its most consistent positive even during its aforementioned slow point. The trio’s chemistry is natural and entrancing, forming a believable friendship and bond that the audience can become invested in. You believe that three care for each other, that Harold and Valerie are in love, and you hope that whatever the mystery behind the murders of the General and Liz turns out to be, that the friends will come out on the other side unscathed. Bale’s turn as lead is the high quality performance that you’ve come to expect from the screen great, forming a lot of Amsterdam’s introspection and having a satisfying character arc involving love and finding the purpose of life. Robbie is charming and funny as Valerie, magnetic as ever onscreen. Her romance with Washington is one you root for and Washington, while noticeably a step behind Bale and Robbie’s skill as actors, holds his own and fits their dynamic well in his supporting role.
Amsterdam is an enjoyable mystery that mixes fantastic cast chemistry and performances with a topical story that examines social issues without being too preachy or heavy-handed. It balances an emotional performance and character arc for Christian Bale with its comedic elements and avoids sinking completely after a second act that is a little too heavy on setup and dialogue. The result is a good time and the chance to see charming actors command the big screen in a well shot period piece.
Image: 20th Century Studios
