Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, Chris Rock, Rami Malek, Robert De Niro, Taylor Swift… These are just some of the megastars who have come together in the movie “Amsterdam”. Nothing can go wrong there, one would think. But despite the celebrity density, the film is not convincing.
Does anyone remember the song “Amsterdam” by Cora? “Dream of Amsterdam that took away hope,” it says in the refrain. And in a way, the line also fits the strip by David O. Russell, also simply titled “Amsterdam”, which is now also coming to German cinemas about a month after its US start.
But first things first: The prerequisites for the film to become one of the cinema hits of 2022 were anything but bad. After all, Russell has proven time and time again what he can do. This earned him a string of Oscar nominations for three different directorial and screenwriting works, among others: The Fighter (2011), Silver Linings (2013) and American Hustle (2014).
In addition, “Amsterdam” comes up with a monster cast that is second to none. The main roles are played by Christian Bale, Margot Robbie and John David Washington. Also starring in supporting roles are Chris Rock, Zoe Saldana, Mike Myers, Rami Malek and Robert De Niro. And pop high-flyer Taylor Swift, who has just set an unbelievable chart record, shouldn’t be missing either.
The plot of the film takes place against the background of true events that have gone down in history as a “business plot”, “Wall Street coup” or “White House coup”. In 1933, for example, plans to overthrow the government of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and establish a fascist dictatorship were circulating in high circles in the USA. Veterans of the First World War were to play a central role in the putsch, and they were very displeased because they were not compensated for their efforts.
In “Amsterdam” two old war veterans are at the center of the action. Physician Burt Berendsen (Bale) and lawyer Harold Woodman (Washington) met and fell in love while fighting together on the front lines. Not only because of their different skin colors are they a very unequal couple. When they both end up injured in a French army hospital, the eccentric nurse Valerie Voze (Robbie) mends them back together.
A friendly love triangle develops between the trio, in which Woodmann and Voze eventually fall in love with each other. After the war, the three settled in Amsterdam together and initially enjoyed life there to the fullest. However, when Berendsen and Woodman returned to their American homeland, they parted ways with Voze.
The lives of the doctor and the lawyer are turned upside down once again when Liz Meekins (Swift) suddenly appears on the scene in New York. She has her father’s body in her luggage. Because she is convinced that the highly decorated army general did not die naturally, she asks for help in solving the crime. But just a little later, Liz Meekins is also dead – and Berendsen and Woodman have to learn that there is much more at stake here than “just” a dead general in a box. They get deeper and deeper into the conspiracy swamp, in which they miraculously meet Valerie Voze again and with Gil Dillenbeck (De Niro), another general seems to become the last lifeline…
The costs for “Amsterdam” are said to have exploded to around 80 million dollars in the course of the production, which was overshadowed by the corona pandemic. Russell is not only doing a lot to do justice to this with his prominent cast. The decor of the strip is pompous, the humor is not neglected and the narrative style, which is sometimes reminiscent of Guy Ritchie’s style with still images, fade-ins and unusual cuts, is modern.
But despite all that, the sparks don’t really want to fly over the 134 minutes of “Amsterdam”. Perhaps precisely because of the striving for perfection on all levels, which in the end seems more intentional than skillful. The film oscillates indecisively between a thriller, a historical drama, a crime comedy or a film noir and falls into lengths in the process. More than once there are also bumps in the transitions – Corona really seems to have messed up a lot when working on the film.
In the US, “Amsterdam” already flopped at the box office. It is to be feared that this will happen again in our country. That’s a pity, because at least the message of the strip could hardly be more up-to-date. The gulf between truth and conspiracy, between righteousness and crime, between democracy and dictatorship that once opened up with the “Business Plot” is still there around 90 years later – and it feels deeper than ever. A visit to the cinema might be worthwhile just to visualize the frightening parallels.
“Amsterdam” is now in German cinemas.
