Worth: $14.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Andrea Riseborough, Zoe Saldaña, Ed Begley Jr., Taylor Swift, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alessandro Nivola, Rami Malek, Robert De Niro, Anya Taylor-Joy, Michael Shannon, Mike Myers, Chris Rock
Intro:
If you can park your reservations at the door, then you might still come away smiling at these somewhat lovable characters and the determinedly-positive message of love and friendship.
Any film by David O. Russell (The Fighter, American Hustle, The Silver Linings Playbook) has to be worthy of consideration and this one has been understandably hotly anticipated – his first since 2015’s Joy. The first thing you notice is that this period drama has an absolutely unbelievable cast. There are so many big names in this film that they would have to extend the poster just to fit them all in. That alone might be a very good reason for forking out your hard-earned. The problem is that the film is not as good as the sum of its parts.
To describe the plot would take up too much space (there are innumerable ironic coincidences and u-turns), and it is not really necessary because that is not the most interesting aspect of the film. It is useful to know that the tale – with the familiar nod to the audience that it is all (nearly) true – takes place between the two world wars in America. Burt (Christian Bale), Harold (John David Washington) and Valerie (Margot Robbie) are besties whose friendship is forged in war and who swear to support each other ever after. In the first phase, the three hang together in a kind of bohemian idyll, but when they are exposed to the harsh racially-divided America of the 1920s, their paths diverge. They then get drawn into a crazy plot to stop the treacherous ruling class from subverting American democracy.
Russell is aware that a lot of this needs explaining and so he gives his characters oodles of loquacious, expository dialogue. When that isn’t enough, he resorts to the old voice of God narration. All this keeps us informed – or sort of over-informed – right up until the last section when the filmmaker really spells the overarching theme in a way that suggests he doesn’t trust his audience to grasp the idea at all. The film is also leisurely paced and there are some scenes where the actors seem to be waiting around for the first person to finish a long speech so they can deliver their one-liner.
Of course, a film with this much talent and skill can’t be all bad, and it is not. The actors look great, the costumes and set design are also top drawer, and there are set ups that are both memorable and fun. There are also wonderfully absurdist moments. If you can park your reservations at the door, then you might still come away smiling at these somewhat lovable characters and the determinedly-positive message of love and friendship.
