Amsterdam Review: 5 Ups & 5 Downs
Downs...
5. The Convoluted, Messy Narrative
Though Amsterdam's narrative - part murder-mystery, part political conspiracy thriller - isn't actually that complicated if you break it down point-by-point, O. Russell's script tries its absolute damnedest to twist it into a convoluted, at times scarcely comprehensible mess.
What begins simply enough, with our three main characters becoming prime suspects in the murder of U.S. Senator Bill Meekins, is complicated by timeline shifts, globetrotting, and motivations that change on the turn of a dime.
One suspects O. Russell was attempting to pay homage to intentionally scatterbrained mystery capers from the Golden Age of Cinema, yet it doesn't quite translate in this case.
As a result, viewers may find themselves confused by what's going on at certain points, while feel whacked over the head with the prevailing themes and ideas at others.
All in all it adds up to a bewildering stew of a story that many may ultimately feel isn't worth the 134 minutes they'll invest watching it.