Movie Poster

Love is not enough. You got to fight to protect kindness. You get attached to people and things. And they just break your hear. But that's being alive.

Previous David O. Russell review:

• American Hustle

# Review

Based on the Business Plot, an interesting incident in American history where Marine Corps Major General Smedley testified under oath that there was a conspiracy backed by wealthy businessmen to stage a fascist coup d'état against President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The film follows a trio of friends who get involved in the plot: the trio includes Burt Berendsen (Christian Bale), a quirky doctor who fought in World War I, Harold Woodman (John David Washington), a lawyer and Burt’s former comrade in arms, and Valerie Bandenberg (Margot Robbie), an eccentric nurse who used shrapnel extracted from wounded soldiers to make art. Burt and Harold are asked by Elizabeth Meekins (Taylor Swift) to investigate the mysterious death of her father (Ed Begley Jr.).

What immediately stuck out is just how loaded the cast is; the supporting cast reads like an Oscar nominations list, featuring names such as Rami Malek, Robert De Niro, and Zoe Saldaña. The character designs are interesting; some roles were fun to watch, such as Chris Rock’s dramatic Milton, Michael Shannon and Mike Myers’ comedic intelligence duo, and Anya Taylor-Joy’s neurotic Libby. Other roles, such as Saldaña’s Irma St. Clair, Alessandro Nivola and Matthias Schoenaerts’ detective duo, and Timothy Olyphant’s mysterious hitman, feel cookie-cutter and don’t allow the performers any room to shine. The trio of protagonists are all solid, but my favourite is probably Bale’s conflicted and erratic Burt.

The cinematography is probably my favourite aspect of the film; the use of different camera angles and the subdued colour scheme really lend the film a cerebral air. The pacing in the first part of the film is very engaging, and is reminiscent of films like Knives Out but unfortunately the film loses focus after the flashback, where it becomes a soapy friendship drama. If the film kept up the direction and focus, it would’ve been a much more enjoyable film. As with American Hustle there’s a very mature sense of humour which isn’t necessarily funny but is amusing.

# Conclusion

A quirky film with an amazing cast but lots of wasted potential.

# Overall rating: 7.0

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