Amsterdam

 

Low marks on a David O. Russell film doesn't mean it's a bad picture.

Russell, a director who takes his time, doesn't really make bad pictures. His movies are good and better, unconventional and challenging.

Though he is of the generation of filmmakers that includes Spike Lee and Quentin Tarantino, Russell shares stylistic sensibilities with younger directors Paul Thomas Anderson and Wes Anderson.

He's an auteur who directs narratively dense material with socially and politically charged themes. Frequently wacked out stories with huge casts. Russell doesn't seem to be drawn to the intimate and the confessional.

Critics may be spoiled by Russell's strong track record -- American Hustle, Silver Lining Playbook, Three Kings-- and by the enormous respect he's garnered (well-earned, IMO) from Hollywood A-listers who want to work with him.

Russell's latest film, Amsterdam, is a cinematic gem of a Great Depression-era period piece that is packed with familiar faces -- Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Robert De Niro, among them -- in a story that tracks along with some historical events while making pointed remarks on current affairs.

Amsterdam involves internecine schemes involving WWI veterans, corporate interests and a fringe cabal trying to undermine democracy. Some of the film's language and swagger feel anachronistic in places but not distractingly so.

Much is going on in Amsterdam, much is on Russell's mind, and audiences will be asked to juggle a lot. That shouldn't be a bad thing.

Those attending too closely to negative responses to Amsterdam's twisty devices might recall that The Big Sleep (1946) was generally panned by critics for similar reasons but has since been reassessed as masterful moviemaking.

Perhaps in that way Amsterdam is one of those rare events in this highly disposable entertainment age-- a film that has been made to be savored over time.