Amsterdam (2022 film)

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Amsterdam
File:Amsterdam (2022 film).jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDavid O. Russell
Written byDavid O. Russell
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyEmmanuel Lubezki
Edited byJay Cassidy
Music byDaniel Pemberton
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Studios
Release dates
  • September 18, 2022 (2022-09-18) (Alice Tully Hall)
  • October 7, 2022 (2022-10-07) (United States)
Running time
134 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • Canada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$80 million[1][2]
Box office$24.3 million[3][4]

Amsterdam is a 2022 period comedy thriller film written, directed, and produced by David O. Russell. Led by Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington, the film features an ensemble 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. It was released in the United States on October 7, 2022, by 20th Century Studios.

The story is based on the Business Plot, a 1933 political conspiracy in the US, and follows three friends—a doctor, a nurse, and a lawyer—who are caught in the mysterious murder of a retired US general. Filmed in Los Angeles from January to March 2021, it is Russell's first film since Joy (2015). It received mixed reviews from critics, most of whom praised the production design and the cast's performances, but criticized Russell's screenplay and direction. It was also a box office bomb, with estimated losses for the studio reaching $97 million.

Plot

In 1918, Burt Berendsen is sent by his estranged wife's parents to fight in World War I. While stationed in France, Burt meets and befriends African-American soldier Harold Woodsman. After they sustain injuries in battle, Burt and Harold are nursed back to health by Valerie Voze, an eccentric nurse who makes art out of shrapnel removed from the soldiers, whom they befriend as well.

The three move to Amsterdam, where they live together and become close friends until Burt returns to New York City to be with his wife. Harold, who has fallen in love with Valerie and begun a tenuous romantic relationship with her, also leaves to go to New York and fulfill his own aspirations of becoming a lawyer.

Fifteen years later, Burt has opened his own medical practice catering to veterans of the war, but still remains friends with Harold, who is now a lawyer. 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. Burt performs the autopsy with the help of nurse Irma St. Clair. The autopsy reveals that Meekins has a considerable amount of poison in his stomach; Burt and Irma theorize that this must have been the cause of death. Burt and Harold meet with Elizabeth to talk about the autopsy results, but she is suddenly killed when a hitman pushes her into traffic. The hitman frames Burt and Harold for her death, while they flee as the police arrive.

Burt and Harold attempt to find out who had led Elizabeth to hire them in order to clear their names. This leads them to wealthy textile heir Tom Voze and his patronizing wife Libby. They learn that Valerie is Tom's sister and was the one who convinced Elizabeth to hire them, knowing that they were trustworthy, and that Valerie is under constant supervision by Tom and Libby, who claim that she suffers from a nerve disease. Burt and Harold talk with Tom, who suggests they talk to Gil Dillenbeck, a famous and decorated veteran who was friends with Meekins.

While Burt attempts to contact Dillenbeck, Harold and Valerie spend the day at her home, where they notice the hitman, Tarim Milfax. They follow him to a forced sterilization clinic owned by a mysterious organization known as the "Council of 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 Council of Five are planning to overthrow the American government and that Dillenbeck can help them foil their plot.

The trio meet up with Dillenbeck, who is offered a large sum of money from a man on behalf of an unnamed benefactor to deliver a speech advocating for veterans to forcibly remove President Franklin D. Roosevelt and install Dillenbeck as a puppet dictator instead. Dillenbeck agrees and plans to speak at a reunion gala, which Burt and Harold are hosting, in order to draw out whoever is behind the plot.

At the gala, Dillenbeck reads his own speech instead of the one he was paid to read. Milfax intends to shoot Dillenbeck for doing so, but Harold and Valerie spot him and are able to stop him in time. Milfax is arrested, while the Council of Five are revealed to be four industry leaders, including Tom, who are fanatically obsessed with Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler and intend to make America a fascist country.

Tom and the other leaders are arrested by the police, but do not stay long and slander Dillenbeck in the press following their release. Dillenbeck testifies about the incident to Congress and returns home to live out his life. Harold and Valerie leave the country since they cannot be together in the United States. Burt wishes them farewell and plans to reopen his medical practice and pursue a relationship with Irma.

At the start of the film's end credits, original 1930s film footage of retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler's testimony to the US Congress is shown beside a similar portrayal by General Gil Dillenbeck (Robert de Niro) reading exactly the same script at the same time.

Cast

Production

In January 2020, New Regency announced the development on an untitled film written and directed by David O. Russell and starring Christian Bale, with filming expected to begin that April.[5] In February, Margot Robbie and Michael B. Jordan were announced to star,[6][13] but the latter dropped out before production began due to scheduling conflicts. Jennifer Lawrence was reportedly considered for Robbie's role, while Jamie Foxx was considered for Jordan's. In October, John David Washington was cast as Jordan's replacement.[7] The rest of the ensemble cast was revealed between January and June 2021.[8][12] Much of the cast worked for scale, and Bale took less than his typical $5 million fee while Malek earned a six-figure salary.[14]

Filming was originally set to begin in March 2021 in Boston on a $50 million budget, but was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] Filming was moved to Los Angeles, California after the cast did not want to travel to Boston amid the pandemic. Principal photography took place over 49 days between January and March 2021.[8][15] The move from Boston to Los Angeles and COVID-precautions caused the film's final budget to balloon to $80 million.[14] Crew members included cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (his first feature film since 2015),[16] editor Jay Cassidy, and score composer Hildur Guðnadóttir.[17] In April 2022, at CinemaCon, the film's title was revealed to be Amsterdam.[18] In August, it was revealed that Guðnadóttir had exited as composer, with Daniel Pemberton now replacing her.[19] According to Robbie, on the last day of filming, they kept production going after their filming permit ended, so the police had to call "wrap" on the film.[20]

Release

Marketing

The film was previewed at the 2022 CinemaCon on April 27, 2022.[18][21] The trailer was released on July 6, 2022, set to Ten Years After's 1971 song "I'd Love to Change the World".[22] An edited version of the trailer was shown in theaters, revealing the film's release date as October 7. Character posters were released on September 12, 2022.[23] Disney and Regency spent an estimated $70 million on global promotion.[14]

Theatrical

Amsterdam premiered at Alice Tully Hall in New York City on September 18, 2022, and was released in the United States on October 7, 2022, by 20th Century Studios.[24] It was originally scheduled for November 4, 2022 release,[25] but was moved up to October 7 to avoid the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, another film being released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.[1] It was also screened in IMAX; a special screening, preceded by a Live Q&A broadcast, took place in IMAX theaters nationwide on September 27, 2022.[26]

Reception

Box office

As of November 2, 2022, Amsterdam has grossed $14.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $9.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $24.2 million, against a production budget of $80 million.[3] Following its opening weekend, Deadline Hollywood estimated the film would lose the studio an estimated $97 million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participations, and other costs versus box office grosses and home media revenues.[14]

In the United States and Canada, Amsterdam was released alongside Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, and was initially projected to gross around $10 million from 3,005 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates reaching $15 million.[2] After making $2.6 million on its first day, including $550,000 from Thursday night previews, expectations were lowered to $7 million.[27] The film went on to debut to $6.5 million, finishing in third.[28] Deadline Hollywood blamed the poor performance on the critical response, 134-minute runtime deterring audiences, and Disney being unsure how to market the film due to its quirky style and convoluted plot.[29] The film made $2.2 million in its second weekend, dropping 55% and finishing in fifth.[30]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 33% of 235 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Amsterdam has a bunch of big stars and a very busy plot, all of which amounts to painfully less than the sum of its dazzling parts."[31] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 48 out of 100 based on 51 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."[32] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave the film a 72% overall positive score.[29]

Bale at the Spanish premiere of The Dark Knight in 2008
Margot Robbie at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France.
John David Washington at a press event for The Piano Lesson in 2022
Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington (left to right) received praise from a majority of critics for their onscreen chemistry as the lead trio.

In positive reviews, Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood lauded the "complex" screenplay, "uniquely conceived" characters, cinematography, costume, production, and score.[33] Giving the film four out of five stars, James Mottram of South China Morning Post described Amsterdam as "a Hal Ashby-style caper full of fireworks with contemporary political overtones".[34] Scott Mendelson of Forbes described it as an "all-star delight" with "strong production values" and a "terrific ensemble cast delivering some top-shelf work."[35] Chris Knight, writing for National Post, admired the film's "rattling" pace, "lovely" screenplay and supporting cast.[36] Brian Truitt of USA Today, Ryan Swen of Slate, and Oliver Jones of The New York Observer gave the film three out of four stars. Calling it a thoroughly entertaining, "whimsical whodunit" and "quirky, big-hearted trip", Truitt's praise was focused on the cast, especially the "crowd-pleasing" chemistry between Bale, Robbie and Washington.[37] Swen complimented the film's sentiment and "detail-rich" narrative.[38] Jones wrote, the film is "quite odd and discombobulating, but if you allow its turned up and persistent energy to sweep over you, and soak in the joy and righteous anger that animates its generous spirit, the end result is decidedly moving, and—at some points—even enthralling."[39]

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".[40] /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.[41] 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".[42] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Amsterdam is "a lot of movies inelegantly squidged into one—a zany screwball comedy, a crime thriller, an earnest salute to pacts of love and friendship, an antifascist history lesson with fictional flourishes." He praised the lead performances, cinematography, production and costume design, but felt its material suits a limited series more than a film.[43] Paste's Aurora Amidon praised the "vibrant" cinematography", "whip-tight" editing and the cast's "incredible" performances, despite the "bewildering" story.[44] 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.[45] Variety critic Peter Debruge dubbed it a "beautifully shot" yet "overstuffed social satire" with intelligent ideas poorly executed.[46] Ian Freer of Empire stated that Amsterdam "fails to amount to more than the sum of its occasionally impressive parts".[47] Leah Greenblatt, writing for Entertainment Weekly, rated Amsterdam a C+ and described it as an "odd shaggy-dog mystery" with a "hectic" story, but called the production and costume design "impeccable".[48]

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.[49] Describing the plot as a "wanton disarray", IndieWire's David Ehrlich rated the film a C−, owing to its "negligible" entertainment value.[50] 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."[51] 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, mannerist noise."[52] Giving the film an F rating, Chase Hutchinson of Collider criticized its "egregious" editing, "banal" dialogue, "muddled" tone, and overall "lack of vision".[53]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Lang, Brent; Donnelly, Matt; Rubin, Rebecca (September 28, 2022). "Can David O. Russell's Star-Studded 'Amsterdam' Survive Withering Reviews and Bad Buzz?". Variety. Retrieved September 29, 2022. And yet, the film, bolstering more stars than in the heavens, to quote an old line — and a budget that's upwards of $80 million — is arriving in theaters having been pulverized by the critics who have published so far and hoping to rescue its investment by overcoming the reviews to be a commercial success.
  2. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 4, 2022). "Will 'Smile' Outshine 'Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile' & 'Amsterdam' At Weekend Box Office? – Preview". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Amsterdam (2022)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  4. ^ "Amsterdam (2022)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 16, 2020). "David O. Russell And Christian Bale In Talks For Big Film At New Regency". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 17, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  6. ^ a b N'Duka, Amanda (February 11, 2020). "Margot Robbie To Co-Star Opposite Christian Bale In David O. Russell New Regency Film". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c Kroll, Justin (October 9, 2020). "John David Washington Joins Christian Bale & Margot Robbie In David O Russell Film For New Regency". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k N'Duka, Amanda (January 14, 2021). "Robert De Niro, Mike Myers, Timothy Olyphant, Michael Shannon, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy & More Join David O. Russell Movie". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  9. ^ Wiese, Jason (October 7, 2022). "Amsterdam Cast: Where You've Seen The Actors Before". CINEMABLEND. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  10. ^ Abdulbaki, Mae (October 7, 2022). "Amsterdam Cast & Character Guide". ScreenRant. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  11. ^ a b N'Duka, Amanda (January 13, 2021). "Rami Malek & Zoe Saldana Join David O. Russell Film At New Regency". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  12. ^ a b Galuppo, Mia (June 1, 2021). "Taylor Swift Set for David O. Russell Movie". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 1, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  13. ^ Galuppo, Mia (February 12, 2020). "Michael B. Jordan Joins Margot Robbie in David O. Russell Drama (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  14. ^ a b c d D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 9, 2022). "'Amsterdam' Stands To Lose Near $100 Million: What This Means For Upscale Movies". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  15. ^ Davis, Clayton (April 1, 2021). "'Promising Young Woman': Emerald Fennell, Margot Robbie, Josey McNamara on Oscars and if There's a #FennellCut". Variety. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  16. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (March 3, 2020). "Emmanuel 'Chivo' Lubezki Set As DP On David O Russell's New Regency Pic With Christian Bale, Michael B. Jordan, Margot Robbie". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  17. ^ Chitwood, Adam (November 30, 2020). "'Joker' Composer Hildur Guðnadóttir to Score David O. Russell's New Movie". Collider. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  18. ^ a b Tartaglione, Nancy; D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 27, 2022). "David O. Russell Movie Gets A Title And First-Look Photo – CinemaCon". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  19. ^ "Daniel Pemberton Scoring David O. Russell's Amsterdam". Film Music Reporter. August 6, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  20. ^ Christopherson, David (September 21, 2022). "Margot Robbie Claims the Police Were Forced to Shut Down Amsterdam Production". MovieWeb. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  21. ^ Welk, Brian (April 27, 2022). "David O. Russell's 'Amsterdam' Gets First Look Trailer at CinemaCon". TheWrap. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  22. ^ Shirey, Paul (July 6, 2022). "Christian Bale & Margot Robbie Lead All-Star Cast In Amsterdam Trailer". Screen Rant. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  23. ^ @AmsterdamMovie (September 12, 2022). "Take a look at these brand new character posters and experience #AmsterdamMovie only in theaters October 7" (Tweet). Retrieved September 30, 2022 – via Twitter.
  24. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 16, 2022). "David O. Russell's Amsterdam Going Earlier In October". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  25. ^ Kit, Borys (September 10, 2021). "Disney's Live-Action 'The Little Mermaid' to Open on Memorial Day Weekend in 2023". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  26. ^ "Amsterdam: The IMAX Live Experience". September 26, 2022.
  27. ^ Moreau, Jordan (October 7, 2022). "Box Office: 'Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile' Earns $575,000 in Previews". Variety. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  28. ^ Fuster, Jeremy (October 8, 2022). "'Smile' Blows Away 'Lyle Lyle Crocodile' to Stay No. 1 at Box Office". TheWrap. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  29. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 9, 2022). "'Smile' Posts Best Second Weekend Hold For R-Rated Horror Film After 'Get Out'; Audiences Never Got High On 'Amsterdam' – Sunday AM Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  30. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 16, 2022). "'Halloween Ends' Opening Lower Than Expected With $41M+: Blame Day & Date Peacock Release As Sequel Is Most Watched On Streamer – Sunday Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  31. ^ "Amsterdam (2022)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  32. ^ "Amsterdam". Metacritic. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  33. ^ Hammond, Pete (September 28, 2022). "'Amsterdam' Review: Christian Bale & All-Star Cast Light Up David O. Russell's Timely Blend Of Fact And Fiction". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  34. ^ Mottram, James (September 30, 2022). "Amsterdam: Christian Bale leads star-studded comedy-thriller". South China Morning Post. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  35. ^ Mendelson, Scott (October 4, 2022). "Review: David O. Russell's 'Amsterdam' Is An All-Star Delight". Forbes. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  36. ^ Knight, Chris (October 4, 2022). "Film review: Amsterdam is a busy movie, and that's not a bad thing". National Post. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  37. ^ Truitt, Brian (October 4, 2022). "Review: Christian Bale, Margot Robbie take an all-star cast to buoyant 'Amsterdam'". USA Today. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  38. ^ Swen, Ryan (October 4, 2022). "'Amsterdam' Review: A Picaresque About Taking on Fascism". Slant Magazine. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  39. ^ Jones, Oliver (October 4, 2022). "David O. Russell's 'Amsterdam' Is Overstuffed, Manic And Enthralling". The New York Observer. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  40. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (September 28, 2022). "Amsterdam review – turn of the screwball in David O Russell's starry muddle". The Guardian. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  41. ^ Ewing, Jeff (October 4, 2022). "Amsterdam Review: Enjoyable Performances Can't Save David O. Russell's Undercooked Movie - /Film". /Film. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  42. ^ Hoffman, Jordan (October 4, 2022). "In Amsterdam, Bale, Robbie, and Washington work hard to have fun". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  43. ^ Rooney, David (September 28, 2022). "'Amsterdam' Review: Christian Bale and Margot Robbie Head Starry Ensemble in David O. Russell's Chaotic Cautionary Tale". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  44. ^ Amidon, Aurora (October 3, 2022). "A Superb Cast Cannot Salvage Amsterdam's Hot Mess". Paste. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  45. ^ Grierson, Tim (September 28, 2022). "'Amsterdam': Review". Screen International. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  46. ^ Debruge, Peter (September 28, 2022). "'Amsterdam' Review: Three Amigos Try to Save America in David O. Russell's Ungainly Period Dramedy". Variety. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  47. ^ Freer, Ian (October 4, 2022). "Amsterdam". Empire. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  48. ^ Greenblatt, Leah (October 4, 2022). "David O. Russell's odd, fitful 'Amsterdam' is all stars and shenanigans". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  49. ^ Collin, Robbie (September 29, 2022). "Amsterdam, review: Margot Robbie's star power can't save this tangled comic thriller". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  50. ^ Ehrlich, David (September 28, 2022). "'Amsterdam' Review: David O. Russell's Star-Studded Plea for Kindness Rings Hollow". IndieWire. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  51. ^ Hertz, Barry (October 3, 2022). "Review: Christian Bale and Margot Robbie miraculously survive David O. Russell's maddening Amsterdam". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  52. ^ Kennedy, Mark (October 4, 2022). "Review: 'Amsterdam' wastes incredible talent on a dull story". Associated Press. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  53. ^ Hutchinson, Chase (October 4, 2022). "'Amsterdam' Review: David O. Russell's Latest Film Is a Star-Studded Disaster". Collider. Retrieved October 5, 2022.

External links

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