A Few Updates on David O. Russell’s ‘Amsterdam’ AKA ‘Canterbury Glass’

David O. Russell’s next film just went from being called “Canterbury Glass” back to its original title, “Amsterdam.” This whole project is honestly a train wreck waiting to be unleashed on the moviegoing public.

Some of the people I’ve spoken to, who have seen O. Russell’s period piece, are still confused by the plot. The official synopsis released by Disney today says …

“The film is set in the ’30s and is a true story that follows three friends who witness a murder, become suspects themselves, and uncover one of the most outrageous plots in American history”

In the trailer, shown at ComicCon this afternoon, De Niro questions Bale, Washington and Robbie after they witness the murder. They are a doctor, a nurse and an attorney — all veterans who met in Belgium. A title card reads, “A lot of this actually happened.” Bale’s voice-over then narrates, “We formed a pact and swore to protect each other no matter what. But sometimes life is perfect until it’s not.”

The first official image of the film (seen above) looks tacky as hell. Test-screenings have been disastrous. Add in the fact that O. Russell is a marked man and a blowback of epic proportions might slowly but surely headed his way.

Do I want the film to succeed? You bet. O. Russell is one of the more genuinely talented big-studio filmmakers of his generation (“Three Kings,” “The Fighter,” “Flirting With Disaster”). However, something feels off about this entire project, and, yes, I’d be delighted to be proven wrong about this one. What American cinema desperately needs is a great new David O. Russell movie.

“Amsterdam” stars Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Rami Malek, Zoe Saldana, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Andrea Riseborough, Matthias Schoenaerts, Robert De Niro and Taylor Swift.

Shooting was completed in late February of 2021. That’s one hell of a long post-production process for O. Russell and his team. When “Amsterdam” gets released this coming November, it will have been more than 20 months since filming wrapped.

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