ReelBob: ‘Amsterdam’ ★★

By Bob Bloom

David O. Russell’s “Amsterdam” is a Rubik’s cube of a movie that takes too long to solve and nearly forces you to surrender.

This complex and convoluted movie is kept afloat are the performances of its three leads — Christian Bale, Margot Robbie and John David Washington.

Ostensibly, the movie is a conspiracy thriller-murder mystery, but Russell tosses in too many subplots that distract you from the main story.

The first act of “Amsterdam” is the most appealing part of the film. It introduces us to Bale’s Dr. Burt Berendsen, Washington’s Harold Woodman and Robbie’s Valerie Voze.

Berendsen and Woodman meet in the trenches during World War I when Berendsen is put in charge of “colored soldiers” — the designation for Black troops during that time, after the soldiers mutiny over the racist cruelty of their commanding officer.

Berendsen is given the command by the honorable Gen. William Meekins, who decries the U.S. policy of dressing the Black soldiers in French uniforms so as not to offend the white doughboys.

Berendsen and Woodman are injured — the former loses an eye, while the latter retains some facial scars. In the hospital, they are treated by Voze, a compassionate American working in a French hospital.

When the war ends, the trio travel to Amsterdam, where they live for several months, until Berendsen decides to return home to his wife and loveless marriage.

Berendsen sets up a practice in which he treats World War I veterans, mostly with pills and concoctions of his own creation.

Woodman goes to Columbia University, where he earns a law degree.

The meat of the story transpires in the 1930s, when the two friends are called upon by Liz Meekins (Taylor Swift) to take the body of Gen. Meekins, perform an autopsy and detail how he died.

Liz Meekins believes it was foul play, and her hunch proves correct.

Circumstances turn Berendsen and Woodman into fugitives, wanted by the police for murder.

The pair seek help from Tom Voze (Rami Malik) who, unknown to the pair is Valerie’s brother (Valerie used an alias while traveling around Europe), and Voze’s wife, Libby (Anya Taylor Joy).

The two veterans seek an audience with retired Gen. Gil Dillenbeck (Robert De Niro), a close friend of Meekins.

Berendsen and Woodman stumble upon a far-right group that not only wants to take over the government but has set up a string of clinics where citizens whom they consider undesirable — you know who I’m talking about — are sterilized.

At 134 minutes, “Amsterdam” stumbles like a cinematic inebriate, unable to stay focused on one aspect of its story for too long.

Bigotry, race, politics, the Great Depression and big business are all targets for Russell’s scattershot approach.

The movie is driven by its trio of leads. Bale, Robbie and Washington share an appealing chemistry that invests you in their investigation, even when the movie takes detours.

The movie feels as if Russell is trying to duplicate a Wes Anderson feature, with big-name performers — Chris Rock, Timothy Olyphant, Zoe Saldana, Michael Shannon and Mike Myers, to name a handful — in small roles that sidetrack you more than move along the story.

“Amsterdam’s” main problem is Russell. He overstuffs the film, trying to say too much and weaves too many themes into a tapestry about friendship, sacrifice and honor. Perhaps if he had kept his eye on a simple objective, he would have succeeded.

I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob.com or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.

AMSTERDAM
2 stars out of 4
(R), violence, bloody images