There’s already a nice little reappraisal happening for David O. Russell’s “Amsterdam,” which we all figured would get bashed by critics in late September. Russell was a marked man and you just knew he didn’t stand a chance.
The film nabbed a 48 on Metacritic and stands at a disastrous 33% on Rotten Tomatoes. I really liked the first half of “Amsterdam”, but found the second hour to be a bit too convoluted. I’ll be giving this one another look sooner rather than later. It’s really not as bad the reviews entailed it to be — there’s some very strong directing here and the acting is top-notch.
Some critics are starting to come out of the woods defending “Amsterdam.” That’s nice to see. Russell didn’t deserve the absolute hate he got for this film.
West Coast critic Glenn Heath Jr. is saying that “American critics are going to wake up in 10 years and realize they missed a big one here. I'm astonished by its effortless speed and charisma. A true throwback.” That’s quite the prediction. Sight and Sound’s Ryan Swen agreed.
Writer-Director Matthew Wilder had recently emailed me his positive words for “Amsterdam” as well, he’s a big fan, and added that “in a sane world, Margot Robbie would get an Oscar nod for AMSTERDAM and not for BABYLON”.
Richard Brody also seems to believe “Amsterdam” will age very well. He’s very much a part of the aforementioned revisionist movement for the film and even hinted that it would make his best of 2022 list. Ditto Rolling Stone’s David Fear who describes the film as a “radical act” courtesy of Russell.
“Amsterdam” is currently available on VOD.
Edward Berger seems to have settled on what comes next. His Lance Armstrong biopic, starring Austin Butler, is now holding casting calls, with production eyed for January.