Amsterdam is the newest film from David O. Russell, and it’s going to be huge. From the director to the cast to the plot, Amsterdam has almost everything in its corner to promise that it will be a success. Amsterdam's trailer gives you a first look at all the reasons to get excited about seeing the movie. The cast has so many stars in it, you might have to wear sunglasses when you walk into the theater. Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington make up our triple protagonist, and they seem to be involved in a neo-noir whodunnit that will knock your socks off.
Amsterdam takes place in the 1930s, providing the exact aesthetic that a noir mystery should have. And it comes from someone who is uniquely qualified to provide his audience with a mystery, romance, and war story all sautéed in a tasty gangster collusion. Here is why audiences should get excited about Amsterdam.
David O. Russell Strives for (and Achieves) Greatness
David O. Russell is a competent writer and filmmaker and has proven in the past that he won’t make a movie unless he knows it’s good. He has a voice for drama and one for comedy and can easily switch between the two. He understands comedic timing in a dramatic story and can provide an audience with a thrilling, tear-jerking emotional journey while still having fun along the way. Russell's movies won't subject audiences to 90 minutes of serious, dramatic performances, but it isn't overwhelmed by silliness without a message either.
In one of his earliest works, Spanking the Monkey (1994), he told the story of a sexually frustrated medical student who was forced to take care of his attractive bedridden mother. By its nature, the plot is incredibly awkward. But Russell kept audiences laughing while exploring one of the most basic psychosexual narratives: the Oedipal complex. This is a subject that storytellers have been tackling since stories began being told, and Russell proved himself a competent member of the directorial community when he was able to tell it again in a hilarious and nuanced way.
Russell has made popular movies like Silver Linings Playbook, The Fighter, and American Hustle. All of which star incredible award-winning actors. And while he hasn’t taken his whole cast of Amsterdam from previous films, he’s worked with many of his big names. That relationship counts in filmmaking, and understanding how people work on camera helps with writing a script. It allows filmmakers to fit actors into perfect roles and create chemistry in a scene that might otherwise be difficult to feel out with people they haven't worked with before. His relationship with Christian Bale alone should go a long way.
Russell's past films also incorporate many of the styles borrowed in Amsterdam since the noir genre requires an aesthetic made up of multiple parts. He can take his understanding of war from Soldiers Pay, a documentary short on the 2004 war in Iraq that he helped make. The Fighter and American Hustle should provide the gritty American struggle one should see in that type of detective story. And Silver Linings Playbook should give him the notes of subtle romance without distraction from his plot.
Amsterdam's Impressive (and Long) Cast List
As mentioned, Amsterdam will star Christian Bale (who sports a prosthetic eye), John David Washington, and Margot Robbie at the center of the plot. In the film, Bale and Washington's characters are old war buddies who meet a nurse (Robbie), and the three become friends that promise to protect each other. Now they find themselves at the center of a murder which, by struggling to solve it, they realize the crime hides a massive conspiracy. The trio becomes involved with dark forces that reveal themselves to be more powerful than expected, namely Robert De Niro.
But these central characters are not all the movie has to offer. Also cast in the film are Anya Taylor-Joy (Queen’s Gambit), Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Guardians of the Galaxy), Rami Malek (Mr. Robot, Bohemian Rhapsody), Michael Shannon (Knives Out, The Shape of Water), Timothy Olyphant (Justified, The Book of Boba Fett), Andrea Riseborough (Birdman, Oblivion), Mike Myers (Austin Powers), Rebecca Wisocky (Law and Order: SVU), Chris Rock (Saturday Night Live), Alessandro Nivola (Face/Off, American Hustle), Leland Orser (Alien: Resurrection), musician Taylor Swift, Matthias Schoenaerts (Red Sparrow), and Dey Young (Pretty Woman).
So if you’re not going to see the movie for what looks like an incredibly thrilling plot, then at the very least, this astounding list of names should make movie-goers excited. There are so many, one can imagine the studio had a hard time fitting them all on the poster. From about any angle, there’s a lot to look forward to in Amsterdam when it releases on October 7, 2022.