WWI and the growing menace of fascism and despotism in the 1930’s serve as a smoldering backdrop to David O. Russel’s lively and quirky screwball comedy, Amsterdam. Weighted down by Wes Anderson-type eccentrics with actors at the top of their game, the film touches down with multiple tones and themes, amusing and scattershot, but never dull.
Dr. Burt Berendsen (Christian Bale) ganged up with his attorney Harold Woodman (John David Washington) and wealthy artist Valery Voze (Margot Robbie) during WWI. Valerie was a nurse volunteer while Burt joined at the encouragement of his in-laws to lessen the impact of his Jewish ancestry and qualify him for a practice on Park Avenue and thereby mitigate the negativity of their working-class background.
After the war, Burt and Valerie witness a murder, are accused of it, and pursue the murderer, whom they had spied at the crime scene. Subsequently they come upon a conspiracy that stemmed from Nazi Germany sympathies (based on a true seditious incident) and meet the object of that plot, General Gil Dillenbeck (Robert De Niro), a highly decorated war veteran, whose politics align well with De Niro’s outsized liberal bent.
De Niro gives gravitas to the high-flying story, which turns out to jab obliquely at our current political climate of absolutism and QAnon lies. Russell claims to have started his work before the emergence of political trauma that now threatens the workings of our democratic government.
Amsterdam, like the city, is a heady trip just a bit cumbersome to feel tidy but so filled with wonderful characters and a smidge of political relevance. In other words, you can enjoy your evening at your local theater without traveling halfway around the world to eat spicey cake or smoke whatever.
Amsterdam
Director: David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook)
Screenplay: Russell
Cast: Christian Bale (The Dark Knight, The Machinist), Margot Robbie (I, Tonya)
Run Time: 2h 14 m
Rating: R
John DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts NPR’s It’s Movie Time and co-hosts Cinema Classics as well as podcasts Back Talk and Double Take out of WCBE 90.5 FM. Contact him at JohnDeSando52@gmail.com
