UPDATED: David O. Russell has clearly entered the flop era of his career. I don’t know anybody who liked “Amsterdam,” what a shame. Maybe I’ll like it when I catch the film next week?
Russell’s production have become too big. He needs to maybe return to the smaller-scaled filmmaking that made him who he is today. Regardless, we already knew critics had their knives out for the guy, so who knows.
Early social media reactions last night for “Amsterdam”were not good either. I liked his last film, 2015’s “Joy,” despite the critical lashing, but these takes are worse than I ever imagined:
David Ehrlich (IndieWire): “AMSTERDAM is a hot mess and a half but Taylor Swift’s big scene (you’ll know it when you see it!) will surely live on in gif form long after this movie has been forgotten (November).”
Gregory Elwood (The Playlist): “Unfortunately, David O. Russell's Amsterdam is a big ol' miss. Tone and editing are his most jarring since Huckabees. When it has something to say in the third act it's way too late. Robbie and Bale are the best perfs. As for Taylor Swift, at least she'll get a meme out of it.”
Zoe Rose Bryant (We Live Entertainment): “Amsterdam” is a *massive* misfire. The central mystery is needlessly convoluted, the pacing is poor, the acting is inconsistent, AND it’s only intermittently amusing, if that. Christian Bale & Margot Robbie make it out unscathed. Robert De Niro & Anya Taylor-Joy deliver too.”
Matt Neglia (Next Best Picture): “AMSTERDAM is a convoluted mess that’s never as interesting as it thinks it is. Christian Bale attempts to do quirky comedy with embarrassing results while Margot Robbie & John David Washington lack any chemistry. Lubezski’s camerawork feels at odds with David O. Russell’s style.”
Charles Bramesco (Vulture): “The funniest parts of this aggressively okay movie (I’d call this militant fineness “The Russell Touch” if not for, well,) are all metatextual and incidental — Taylor Swift getting [REDACTED] by a [REDACTED], Anya Taylor-Joy being a [REDACTED]
The Playlist’s Rodrigo Perez did like it, but his tweet felt almost like an apology of his enjoyment.
EARLIER: It looks like David O. Russell’s “Amsterdam” was being screened for press while everyone was at TIFF.
Those who did manage to see it will weigh in with their thoughts tomorrow at 9pm ET as the social media embargo lifts. Reviews aren’t allowed to be published until October 4th, two days before its Thursday evening release.
The earliest possible screening I could find for “Amsterdam” takes place on the morning of September 28th. I’m excited for this one.
I’ll be updating this post at 9pm
Paul Greengrass’ "The Uprising," starring Andrew Garfield, opened to $3.2M from 2,068 theaters this weekend. Yikes. The budget hasn’t been disclosed, but is said to be in the $20-$30M range.