DIRECTOR/WRITER: David O. Russell
STARRING: Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Robert De Niro Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Zoe Saldana, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Rami Malek, Andrea Riseborough and Taylor Swift
As we venture into post World War I America, friends and commrades Dr Bert Berendsen (Christian Bale) and Esquire Harold Woodman (John David Washington) had just witnessed a murder, and are trying to reach anyone they know who can help them proclaim their innocence…
Now, venture back a decade, or so as we find how Bert and Harold becaming fast friends while serving in the Army. And when their paths cross with the most gorgeous medic nurse on the planet, Valerie Voze (Margot Robbie), it seems that even a little scrapnel can’t keep these good guys down for long…
But, as time passes and our three friends find that they must part ways, it seems that Bert’s wife back home, the beautiful Beatrice (Andrea Riseborough), hasn’t exactly been sitting at home pining away, waitng for her injured hubby to make his way back home…
And as our friends soon find, amongst all their commeraderie, chaos and heartache lies an evil scheme to shake up our world once again, only this time at the hands of a few astute business men, who are making plans to make some major investments over seas…
Enter Genreral Gil Dillenbeck (Robert De Niro) who has been asked to speak at a Veterans fundraiser at Bert’s request, as the clock ticks by on the underlying reason for General Dillenbeck to be at this place, at this time, with detectives Paul Canterbury (Mike Myers) and Henry Norcross (Michael Shannon) hot on the trail of not only our three best friends, but on what other diabolical plot is being played out as we speak…
I give AMSTERDAM a rating of 4 out of 5 Stars: Picturesqely almost perfect in every way, AMSTERDAM takes us back to the days of yesteryear, circa 1930’s, with some of the most incredible scenery, costumes and performances to hit the big screen in a really long time! Bale once again shows his acting prowess, becoming someone we haven’t seen from him before, as he plays injured war veteran Dr. Bert Barendsen. Margot Robbie gives us another fabulous performance as well, playing the little bit crazy, yet brilliantly entertaining, and drop-dead gorgeous Nurse Valerie. John David Washington is also showing that those acting genes run deep, putting together an exceptional performance yet again as Lawyer, and best friend Harold Woodman. The rest of the cast along the way brought their A-game too, as whether they had a big or small role in David O. Russell’s new nostalgic “who done it” masterpiece, Rock, De Niro, Myers, Shannon, Saldana, Malek and Taylor-Joy were enjoyable to view, and perfectly cast in their respective roles in this film too. The only actor who didn’t leave an indelible mark on screen this time around for me was Swift, but then without giving too much away, she doesn’t really have too much screen time, which could have also been a factor. I really enjoyed almost everything about AMSTERDAM, as the premise, the cinematography, the perfectly crafted costumes, along with all the fabulous performances, where truly sheer perfection. But with that all said, I did get a little queasy with all the injured soldier scenes, so be prepared for that graphic imagry going into this one too. And the only other small deal along the way with this film for me, was it began to drag a little bit midway through, but it manage to peak my interest the whole way through, so it really did redeem itself in the end. I truly was super excited to see so many stars, make such and endearing and rather intriguing film, as you don’t really know exactly where we are headed with AMSTERDAM until the very end! I suggest you plan a date night this weekend with your significant other and head out to a theater near you to catch AMSTERDAM, as it is one of those beautifully crafted films, that you are going to want to catch on the big screen, and no other way…
4 out of 5 Stars
MATINEE CHAT with Kathy Kaiser 