We’re barreling toward the October 7 release of David O. Russell’s new old-school whodunit, Amsterdam, and to drum up further interest in the film, a flurry of character posters have been revealed showing off the star-studded ensemble in all their splendour. All the stars are here, from the leading trio of Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington to the A-list ensemble of Robert De Niro, Rami Malek, Anya Taylor-Joy, Taylor Swift, Zoe Saldana, Michael Shannon, Mike Myers, Alessandro Nivola, Matthias Schoenaerts, Chris Rock, Andrea Riseborough, and Timothy Olyphant. The majority of the men are dressed in tuxedos and three-piece suits, while the women are all wearing clothes typical of the 1930s, albeit they all have their own unique styles.
The eye is drawn in by the vibrant colours—reds, blues, pinks, and even Swift’s patterned green dress—to take in as much information as possible about the heist. Burt (Bale), Harold (Washington), and Valerie (a nurse) are the three main characters in the cover-up plot (Robbie). The three have remained together through thick and thin throughout the years, and their unbreakable bond is about to be tested.
When a man is found dead under suspicious circumstances, the three of them become the prime (and seemingly only) suspects. What follows is a murder mystery with all the Hollywood stars you can handle, and it’s only kind of based on reality. This film will be Russell’s first since the biographical comedy Joy (2015), which starred his regular coworker Jennifer Lawrence. The Oscar-nominated director has a checkered past that includes charges of criminal behaviour and a reputation for being aggressive at work, despite a string of box office successes that includes Silver Linings Playbook, I Heart Huckabees and American Hustle.
Russell certainly has a crew of haters in the entertainment business, as evidenced by American Hustle star Amy Adams’s interview with GQ in which she describes the torture she endured at the hands of the director, and by Hollywood icon Lily Tomlin’s discussion of conflicts that arose while filming I Heart Huckabees. The director’s transgender niece, Nicole Peloquin, who is 19 years old, filed a police report against Russell in 2011. This is arguably the most distressing of all charges. According to the horrific allegations, the director sexually attacked a family member while she was working out, and then tried to cover it up by saying that the young victim had been coming on to him. Even if Russell’s next film, Amsterdam, appears to be destined for critical success, it’s vital that we not gloss over these blatant examples of abuse of power when praising the guy at the helm.