Amsterdam

For a film as sloppy and unfocused as David O. Russell’s Amsterdam, it’s impressive that there are almost enough moving pieces to distract from what’s by far the messiest script of the writer/director’s illustrious career.

Whether it’s the caked-on rust of not having made a film in seven years or merely the latest in a series of diminishing returns after a switch from quirky art (Three Kings; I Heart Huckabees) to increasingly anonymous Oscar bait (The Fighter; Silver Linings Playbook), Russell’s return to the screen is far from great. Yet the hodgepodge of mostly good ideas, a zany tone, one of the best casts assembled outside of a Wes Anderson feature, and Emmanuel Lubezki’s typical top-shelf cinematography generally sustains attention throughout its bloated two-and-a-quarter hours.

Borrowing from his more idiosyncratic — read: better — early efforts but too absorbed in offering up THE Big Important Message for our time, Russell spins a convoluted yarn rooted in the bond between physician Burt Berendsen (Christian Bale), attorney Harold Woodman (John David Washington, probably miscast), and wartime nurse Valerie Voze (Margot Robbie), one that sprouted in a Belgian hospital and blossomed in the titular Dutch city.

Flash forward to the 1930s and Burt and Harold get framed for murder and attempt to clear their names, a mission that reunites them with Valerie and brings them in contact with cops, criminals, good guys, and bad guys played by everyone from Chris Rock to Anya Taylor-Joy to Robert De Niro and the inspired pairing of Mike Myers and Michael Shannon.

Witnessing these and other big names share moments becomes Amsterdam’s greatest asset as it continually raises the potential of something memorable happening between these famous faces. However, Russell is so preoccupied with overpowering viewers that he doesn’t stop to consider whether or not his plan is working.

From the onslaught of semi-funny (and oft-repeated) character names to conversations that, in a more polished effort, might play like lessons in comedic one-upmanship, the film is chockablock with humor, but the jokes lands so sporadically that it feels like each scene was improvised by actors in need of more guidance.

The same goes for Amsterdam’s cultural commentary, inspired by real-life efforts by fascists to essentially stage a military coup in the United States in the days leading up to WWII. It’s a noble gesture, but if Russell wants to warn modern-day audiences of similar efforts to undermine the Constitution, he might have taken the time to hone his message into something clearer than this whirling dervish of a film.

Grade: C-plus. Rated R. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Carolina Cinemark, Grail Moviehouse, and Regal Biltmore Grande.

(Photo: 20th Century Studios)