Amsterdam is doing way too much

It has the most unbelievably stacked cast, led by Margot Robbie and Christian Bale. That’s part of the problem.

Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington in Amsterdam.

Writer and director David O. Russell may not be the warmest or most supportive filmmaker on a set – just ask Lily Tomlin, Amy Adams and George Clooney – but a prickly reputation has not stopped him from attracting the biggest names.

Amsterdam, Russell’s first feature since the 2015 movie Joy, has no less than 16 high-profile stars, starting with his frequent onscreen collaborator Christian Bale alongside co-leads John David Washington and Margot Robbie.

As if the three of them wouldn’t be enough to fill out any call sheet, they’re backed up in supporting roles by – and you may need to take a breath here if you’re going to read this list aloud – Rami Malek, Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Rock, Timothy Olyphant, Robert De Niro, Zoe Saldana, Michael Shannon, Mike Myers, Ed Begley Jr, Alessandro Nivola, Matthias Schoenaerts, Andrea Riseborough and, no less, Taylor Swift.

Amsterdam is in cinemas now.

The fact that some of them have roles barely more than a cameo, speaks to Russell’s drawing power – and his previous works including Three Kings, Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle mark him as one of the few filmmakers still making original studio movies in an era of popcorn franchises.

But the overstuffed cast leave many with not much to do except rock some pretty impressive 1930s costumes and points to the overall problem with Amsterdam, a genial and amusing film with a punchy story and a strong point-of-view.

It has way too much going on.

In the same way that its bloated cast becomes a distraction which takes you out of the story, Amsterdam is unnecessarily convoluted, twisting its confusing narrative into a cobra knot.

In 1933, war vet and unconventional doctor Burt (Bale) and lawyer Harold (Washington) are set-up for a murder. To prove their innocence, they launch themselves into the investigation of the death of a former comrade whose killing is linked to an international conspiracy involving fascists, corporate interests and the unravelling of American democracy.

It’s not before they encounter Valerie (Robbie), a woman they both knew in WWI, and it seems like everyone is somehow connected to this bizarre plot, whether they know it or not.

Amsterdam has an overstuffed cast.

It’s exhausting trying to make sense of it and it’s often far too pleased with how clever it thinks it is. And it is a clever farce, up to a point. But Russell, who wrote the screenplay based on a real-life plot to overthrow Franklin D. Roosevelt in the interwar period, indulges too many impulses.

Amsterdam would have been a fantastic movie if it did about 30 per cent less – 30 per cent less absurdism, 30 per cent less winky-winks, 30 per cent less stunt casting.

There’s a fascinating core in Amsterdam, not to mention its cracking energy, snappy dialogue and Emmanuel Lubezki’s stunning cinematography, that’s buried under the heaving extras, as if Russell needed to cram in every idea he had in the seven years since his last film.

In trying to be too much, it dilutes the power it had in its smart parable about greed and fascism.

Rating: 2.5/5

Amsterdam is in cinemas now