Margot Robbie, Christian Bale and John David Washington are heading to Amsterdam, but people are not happy. No matter how stellar the cast is, no one today is especially excited to see a David O. Russell movie. Still, the infamous director, who first made headlines for allegations of sexual assault eight years ago, has managed to convince the best of the best to work with him on his new film, Amsterdam.
The main trio is the core of the film, a random group of three friends (imagine these three actors becoming friends today in Hollywood!) Who travel to Amsterdam and witness a murder. As they themselves become suspects, they are forced to come together and find the real killer, even if he or she hides among the three of them.
“So two soldiers and a nurse met us in Amsterdam,” Bale’s soldier narrates. “We formed a pact and swore to protect each other, whatever happens.”
The comedy is set in the 1930s, following the deceptions of our two soldiers, a nurse, but also a stack of supporting cast of the most important names in pop culture. While Russell’s frequent collaborators such as Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper have gone on to appear this time, Christian Bale (who won an Oscar for his turn in Russell’s The Fighter) and Robert De Niro are back in charge.
If Aaron Sorkin thought he had the best of Hollywood in Don’t Look Up, Amsterdam is beating him. Robbie, Bale and Washington are the protagonists of the film, but Rami Malek, Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Rock, Zoe Saldaña, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Timothy Olyphant, Andrea Riseborough, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alessandro Nivola, Robert De Niro and … Taylor Swift also makes appearances.
Which begs the question: why did all these Hollywood loved ones want to work with David O. Russell, among all people? After the trailer was released today, social media users were quick to evoke the director’s dark past, which is tainted with a allegation of sexual harassment. There’s a reason Russell has been seven years off.
“I want to be scared of the movie with Margot Robbie and Taylor Swift, but it’s more important to point out the atrocious things that David O. Russell has been accused of,” one wrote, echoing a sentiment common. Others explicitly reminded fans of the allegations made against Russell a few years ago.
In 2012, Russell’s niece, Nicole Peloquin, 19, accused the director of stroking her breasts and putting her hands close to her genitals. Added to the boredom, Russell urged his niece about his ongoing transition: After describing the hormones he was using, the director put his hands under his shirt to feel her breasts.
The director did not question the incident, only adding that Peloquín was “acting very provocatively with him”. He did not face any charges.
And yet, should the show continue? Amsterdam will be released in theaters on November 4.