Amsterdam (2022 film): Difference between revisions

{{Use American English|date=March 2023}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}

}}

| starring = {{Plainlist|

* [[Margot Robbie]]

* [[John David Washington]]

* [[Anya Taylor-Joy]]

* [[Mike Myers]]

* [[Timothy Olyphant]]

* [[Andrea Riseborough]]

* [[Alessandro Nivola]]

* [[Rami Malek]]

}}

| cinematography = [[Emmanuel Lubezki]]

| music = [[Daniel Pemberton]]

| studio = {{Plainlist|

* [[Regency Enterprises]]

* New Regency

* Corazon Camera

}}

| released = {{Film date|2022|9|18|[[Alice Tully Hall]]|2022|10|7|United States}}

| runtime = 134 minutes

'''''Amsterdam''''' is a 2022 [[Historical film|period]] [[Mystery film|mystery]] [[comedy thriller]] film directed, written, and produced by [[David O. Russell]] and starring [[Christian Bale]] (who also produced), [[Margot Robbie]], and [[John David Washington]] alongside an [[ensemble cast|ensemble supporting cast]] including [[Chris Rock]], [[Anya Taylor-Joy]], [[Zoe Saldaña]], [[Mike Myers]], [[Michael Shannon]], [[Timothy Olyphant]], [[Andrea Riseborough]], [[Taylor Swift]], [[Matthias Schoenaerts]], [[Alessandro Nivola]], [[Rami Malek]], and [[Robert De Niro]]. The story is based on the [[Business Plot]], a 1933 [[political conspiracy]] in the United States, and follows three friends—a doctor, a nurse, and a lawyer—who reunite and seek to uncover the act following the mysterious murder of a retired U.S. general.

 

 

==Plot==

Fifteen years later, Burt has opened his medical practice catering to veterans of the war, and remains friends with Harold, who is now a lawyer. However, they have not heard from Valerie since they left Amsterdam. Harold asks Burt to perform an autopsy on Bill Meekins (a senator who served as the commander of their regiment during the war) at the behest of Meekins' daughter Elizabeth, who believes that he was murdered during his recent trip to Europe. Burt performs the autopsy with the help of medical examiner Irma St. Clair. The autopsy reveals a considerable amount of poison in Meekins' stomach; Burt and Irma theorize that this must have been his cause of death. Burt and Harold meet with Elizabeth to talk about the autopsy results, though she is suddenly killed when a [[hitman]] pushes her into traffic. The hitman frames Burt and Harold for her death, and they flee as the police arrive.

 

 

While Burt attempts to contact the General, Irma visits him at his medical practice and reveals that she was attacked and her wrist broken while trying to bring him the autopsy report and the attacker took the paper from her. After resetting her wrist, Burt and Irma share a kiss. Meanwhile, Harold and Valerie spend the day at her home, where they notice the hitman, Tarim Milfax, has been watching the house. They follow him to a [[forced sterilization]] [[clinic]] owned by a mysterious organization known as the "Committee of the Five". After a fight with Milfax, Harold and Valerie reunite with Burt. Valerie takes them to the [[Waldorf Astoria New York]], where they meet Paul Canterbury and Henry Norcross, Valerie's benefactors from Amsterdam who are secretly spies in the intelligence community. Paul and Henry explain that the Committee of the Five is a [[cabal]] in the US with ties to Germany planning to overthrow the American government and that Dillenbeck can help foil their plot.

 

 

At the gala, General Dillenbeck reads his speech instead of the one he was paid to read. Milfax tries to shoot him for doing so, but Harold and Valerie and then Burt manage to stop him in time. Milfax is arrested and the Committee of the Five is revealed to be four industry leaders, including Tom, who is fanatically obsessed with [[Benito Mussolini]] and [[Adolf Hitler]], and intend to turn the United States into a [[Fascism|fascist country]].

* [[Michael Shannon]] as Henry Norcross, US Naval Intelligence<ref name="EnsembleCast" /> and a manufacturer of glass eyes who is Canterbury's partner

* [[Mike Myers]] as Paul Canterbury, an [[MI6]] spy<ref name="EnsembleCast" /> and manufacturer of glass eyes

* [[Timothy Olyphant]] as Tarim Milfax, a hitman<ref name="EnsembleCast" />

* [[Zoe Saldaña]] as Irma St. Clair,<ref name="MalekCast" /> a medical examiner and Burt's love interest

 

===Filming===

 

===Historical basis===

 

===Critical response===

 

{{Multiple image

}}

 

 

Several critics found ''Amsterdam'' overambitious and tonally inconsistent. [[Peter Bradshaw]] of ''[[The Guardian]]'' rated the film three out of five stars and complimented its humor, but felt the story was "exhaustingly wacky".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bradshaw |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Bradshaw |date=September 28, 2022 |title=Amsterdam review – turn of the screwball in David O Russell's starry muddle |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/sep/28/amsterdam-review-david-o-russell-john-david-washington-christian-bale-margot-robbie |access-date=September 29, 2022|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> ''[[/Film]]''{{'}}s Jeff Ewing stated that ''Amsterdam'' "has a number of charming scenes, a stunningly top-tier cast, and flawless cinematography", but cited "wildly fluctuating tones" and "plot contrivances" as its shortcomings.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ewing |first=Jeff |date=2022-10-04 |title=Amsterdam Review: Enjoyable Performances Can't Save David O. Russell's Undercooked Movie - /Film |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/1037442/amsterdam-review-enjoyable-performances-cant-save-david-o-russells-undercooked-movie/ |access-date=2022-10-05 |website=[[/Film]]}}</ref> Rating it a B−, ''[[The A.V. Club]]''{{'}}s Jordan Hoffman found the cast to be "energetic, entertaining, and enjoyable", but called the film "an overly ambitious political [[potboiler]]".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hoffman |first=Jordan |date=October 4, 2022 |title=In Amsterdam, Bale, Robbie, and Washington work hard to have fun |url=https://www.avclub.com/amsterdam-review-christian-bale-margot-robbie-orussell-1849597622 |access-date=October 4, 2022 |website=[[The A.V. Club]]}}</ref> David Rooney of ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' wrote that ''Amsterdam'' is "a lot of movies inelegantly squidged into one—a zany [[screwball comedy]], a [[Crime fiction|crime thriller]], an earnest salute to pacts of love and friendship, an [[Anti-fascism|antifascist]] history lesson with fictional flourishes." He praised the lead performances, cinematography, production and costume design, but felt its material suits a [[Limited-run series|limited series]] more than a film.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Rooney |first=David |date=September 28, 2022|title='Amsterdam' Review: Christian Bale and Margot Robbie Head Starry Ensemble in David O. Russell's Chaotic Cautionary Tale |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/amsterdam-christian-bale-margot-robbie-david-o-russell-1235227331/ |access-date=September 29, 2022|magazine=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref> ''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]''{{'}}s Aurora Amidon praised the "vibrant, no-frills cinematography", "whip-tight" editing and the cast's "incredible" performances, despite the "bewildering" story.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Amidon |first=Aurora |date=2022-10-03 |title=A Superb Cast Cannot Salvage Amsterdam's Hot Mess |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/amsterdam-review/ |access-date=2022-10-05 |website=Paste |archive-date=October 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005075529/https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/amsterdam-review/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Reviewing for ''[[Screen International]]'', Tim Grierson called the film an "overstuffed murder mystery" with a "convoluted" story, but cheered some aspects—the plot's "unpredictability" and the "indulgent cheekiness" of the film.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Grierson |first=Tim |date=September 28, 2022 |title='Amsterdam': Review |url=https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/amsterdam-review/5174708.article |access-date=September 29, 2022 |magazine=[[Screen International]]}}</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' critic Peter Debruge dubbed it a "beautifully shot" yet "overstuffed social [[Satire (film and television)|satire]]" with intelligent ideas poorly executed.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Debruge |first=Peter|date=September 28, 2022 |title='Amsterdam' Review: Three Amigos Try to Save America in David O. Russell's Ungainly Period Dramedy |url=https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/amsterdam-review-david-o-russell-christian-bale-margot-robbie-1235384878/ |access-date=September 29, 2022 |magazine=Variety}}</ref> Ian Freer of ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' stated that ''Amsterdam'' "fails to amount to more than the sum of its occasionally impressive parts."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Freer |first=Ian |date=October 4, 2022 |title=Amsterdam |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/amsterdam/ |access-date=2022-10-05 |website=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]}}</ref> Leah Greenblatt, writing for ''[[Entertainment Weekly]],'' rated ''Amsterdam'' a C+ and described it as an "odd [[Shaggy dog story|shaggy-dog]] mystery" with a "hectic" story, but called the production and costume design "impeccable."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Greenblatt |first=Leah |date=October 4, 2022 |title=David O. Russell's odd, fitful 'Amsterdam' is all stars and shenanigans |url=https://ew.com/movies/movie-reviews/amsterdam-review-david-o-russell-christian-bale/ |access-date=October 4, 2022 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]}}</ref>

 

Some reviews were very critical. Rating the film two out of five stars, [[Robbie Collin]] of ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' found the dialogue unimpressive and wrote that Russell's screenplay "makes heavy weather" of the story.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Collin |first=Robbie |date=September 29, 2022 |title=Amsterdam, review: Margot Robbie's star power can't save this tangled comic thriller |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/amsterdam-review-margot-robbie-christian-bales-star-power-cant/ |access-date=September 29, 2022 |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> Describing the plot as a "wanton disarray", ''[[IndieWire]]''{{'}}s David Ehrlich rated the film a C−, owing to its "negligible" entertainment value.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ehrlich |first=David |date=September 28, 2022 |title='Amsterdam' Review: David O. Russell's Star-Studded Plea for Kindness Rings Hollow |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2022/09/amsterdam-review-david-o-russell-1234766602/ |access-date=September 29, 2022 |website=[[IndieWire]]}}</ref> Barry Hertz of ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'' wrote, "''Amsterdam'' so badly wants to be a light romp with heavy-duty meaning that it cannot help but be flattened by a sagging self-exhaustion."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hertz |first=Barry |date=October 3, 2022 |title=Review: Christian Bale and Margot Robbie miraculously survive David O. Russell's maddening Amsterdam|newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]] |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/reviews/article-christian-bale-and-margot-robbie-miraculously-survive-david-o-russells/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 4, 2022}}</ref> Mark Kennedy of the [[Associated Press]] stated that the film "reaches for something contemporary to say about [[race relations]], concentration of wealth, veterans and fascism but ends up with a plodding, [[Mannerism|mannerist]] noise."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kennedy |first=Mark |date=2022-10-04 |title=Review: 'Amsterdam' wastes incredible talent on a dull story |url=https://apnews.com/article/movie-review-amsterdam-christian-bale-margot-robbie-film-02e2a09ab24d56e3f19e29478cd63b2c |access-date=2022-10-06 |website=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> Giving the film an F rating, Chase Hutchinson of ''[[Collider (website)|Collider]]'' criticized its "egregious" editing, "banal" dialogue, "muddled" tone, and overall "lack of vision."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hutchinson |first=Chase |date=2022-10-04 |title='Amsterdam' Review: David O. Russell's Latest Film Is a Star-Studded Disaster |url=https://collider.com/amsterdam-review-margot-robbie-david-o-russell-taylor-swift/ |access-date=2022-10-05 |website=Collider |language=en-US}}</ref>

 

== References ==

{{David O. Russell}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:2022 comedy films]]

[[Category:2022 films]]

[[Category:English-language Canadian films]]

[[Category:English-language comedy mystery films]]

[[Category:Film productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic]]

[[Category:Films about conspiracy theories]]