For months, “Amsterdam,” a brand-new film, has been cloaked in mystery. We now understand why: it’s unbearable.
I thought about leaving many times during the press screening of David O. Russell’s enormous snoozer on Wednesday night. After 45 minutes, one significant critic got up from his seat and left the room. Meet the world’s luckiest man!
But instead, I stayed to see the drama, which was as emotionally confusing as it was incredibly boring and difficult to understand. That’s strange because the movie seems like it has all the makings of a classic on paper.
Russell (“Silver Linings Playbook,” “The Fighter,” “American Hustle”), the film’s director and writer, is a seasoned storyteller. And he put together a strong cast of A-list celebrities, including Taylor Swift, Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Rami Malek, Robert De Niro, Chris Rock, and Anya Taylor-Joy. A botched attempt to topple the government and establish a fascist dictator is the subject of the interesting narrative, which centres on a little-known but important episode in American history. Neat.
“Amsterdam” offers every possible benefit. Nothing matters. It’s the worst movie of the year so far, and I’ll submit to anything that surpasses it.