David O. Russell Amsterdam is one of the biggest flops of 2022. Russell’s first film in seven years cost about $80 million to make, earned only about $32 million worldwide during its theatrical run this fall, and will lose $100 million for Disney. His performance will undoubtedly land Russell in director’s jail once again, but that doesn’t mean the film is without merit, however, especially for Taylor Swift haters.
** SOME AMSTERDAM SPOILERS TO FOLLOW, SO KEEP YOUR EYE OUT IF YOU’RE THE SENSITIVE TYPE!!**
Okay, still with me?
So why would haters enjoy this dense but delightfully quirky paean to the power of love, friendship and abstract art that almost everyone who saw it disliked immensely? Taylor Swift is struck (!) by a blow (!!) in the opening minutes of the film, setting the entire plot of the film in motion. Yes, you read that correctly. David O. Russell cast the world’s most famous singer—the one with millions of Swifties around the world who spend hundreds of dollars just to sit hundreds of feet from her—dressed her in 1930s period clothing, made the nice one when her character’s father dies, and then promptly dispels it 13 minutes into the film via vehicular homicide. You do not believe me? I got bills!
And you wonder why Swifties didn’t come out in droves to support their Millennial Queen and get dragged, literally, to the box office? You’re crazy about it, David O!
Now, let’s get something straight, lest you misconstrue this author’s stance on Taylor Swift or David O. Russell. First, I consider myself a card-carrying Swiftie; as proof, I humbly present my Spotify Wrapped 2022, where Taylor sits just behind ex Harry Styles on my most listened to list. I’ve long appreciated Swift’s many gifts as both a songwriter and performer, and on a more personal note, I also find inspiration in the way she uses lingering resentments and petty perceptions to feed her insatiable appetite for success.
Perhaps more controversially, I’m also a longtime fan of David O. Russell’s work. Yes, I’m well aware that he berated Lily Tomlin on set, got into a fist fight with George Clooney on set, and ate his transgender niece off set. I don’t find this behavior cute or defensible. Put simply: Is he the kind of guy I’d ask out for tea and crumpets? Certainly not. (Let’s be real. I’d be scared, and more than a little scared.) But does Russell also have a wealth of fascinating, intricate, aesthetically pleasing and often hilarious films under his belt? He does! Undeniably! If my sentiments seem to represent a troubling dichotomy of conflicting attitudes—he’s a bad person who also makes good movies—my main defense is that many of us Gen Xers are equipped with the ability to separate the art from the artist.
And as an artist, Russell isn’t afraid to take risks. I don’t really believe in the whole “the ends justify the means” thing, especially if he often belittles co-workers and subordinates, but Russell tends to get results. That’s why the likes of Christian Bale (another complicated figure!), Margot Robbie, Robert De Niro, John David Washington, Anya Taylor-Joy, Rami Malek, Timothy Olyphant, Michael Shannon, Zoe Saldana, Mike Myers and Chris Rock all signed. until entering Amsterdam. (For everyone’s sake, I wish Chris Rock hadn’t taken the role.) Russell is the kind of director who isn’t afraid to take the heat for firing a live missile at a corpse to show the devastating effects that bullets have in the human body, it does not even avoid the appearance of pop princess Taylor Swift being hit by a vehicle. He’s not a perfect guy and he doesn’t make perfect movies, but in today’s cinematic landscape that’s filled with cookie-cutter crusaders, I’ll continue to give Russell’s flawed but utterly unique films a chance for as long as he keeps finding people to fund them. (After what happened to Amsterdamhowever, that will be easier said than done.)
