Beautiful faces loom large in David O Russell’s latest comedy, which stars Margot Robbie, John David Washington and Taylor Swift (putting the humiliation of Cats behind her; go Tay Tay!) What makes Amsterdam gripping, however, are the wired and witty performances from Christian Bale, Robert De Niro, Andrea Riseborough, Anya Taylor-Joy and Mike Myers. That, plus Emmanuel Lubezki’s electrifyingly informal camera-work and a plot that’s spookily relevant to our times.
The writer/director behind Three Kings, Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle uses a ton of freeze-frames to tell a sprawling story packaged as a whodunnit. Basically, during WWI, half-Jewish, unhappily married, American soldier Burt (Bale), is horribly injured but clicks, emotionally, with a beleaguered Black GI, Harold (Washington), and a quirkily artistic nurse, Valerie (Robbie).
