Amsterdam

With its stellar cast and richly detailed period re-creation, perhaps Amsterdam earns the right to indulge so gratuitously in revisionist history.

Stylish and evocative, this ambitious if overwrought throwback from director David O. Russell (American Hustle) is part ensemble murder mystery, part political satire, and part nostalgic screwball comedy.

Set against a volatile sociopolitical Depression-era backdrop, the film playfully spins a multilayered story with breezy efficiency, even if it lacks much background depth and relevant context.

The film opens in 1930s New York, where idiosyncratic doctor Burt (Christian Bale) specializes in experimental medicine. Attorney friend Harold (John David Washington) visits to share the death of their beloved Army general (Ed Begley Jr.) from their years in an integrated regiment in World War I has died. His daughter (Taylor Swift) suspects foul play, and it’s not long before she’s dead, too.

From there, we flash back to the war, when Harold and the other Black soldiers were ostracized by fellow Americans serving in France. Burt and Harold are wounded and treated by nurse Valerie (Margot Robbie). As sparks ignite between Harold and Valerie, the three vow to remain close during happier times in Amsterdam.

But 15 years later, that’s not the case. Valerie is being guarded by her wealthy brother (Rami Malek), who insists she’s mentally unstable. Burt and Harold’s efforts to free her coincide with a murder investigation in which they initially become suspects.

As the trio encounters a parade of suspicious eccentrics, they become entangled in a maze of political corruption and corporate greed, along the way uncovering secrets that suggest a much broader conspiracy with widespread ramifications.

The deep supporting cast includes Robert De Niro, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Anya Taylor-Joy, Zoe Saldana, and many more.

Some clever twists, sharp dialogue, and committed performances assist in the film’s effort to leverage a nonstop zany energy in distracting moviegoers from the more formulaic narrative elements at its core.

Beneath the surface, Russell’s highly uneven screenplay simmers with tension regarding race, wealth, class, medical ethics, and military integration and appreciation. Still, the character dynamics are more intriguing than the particulars of the central case, which becomes muddled in misdirection and tangential detours.

The film gradually builds suspense as the stakes are heightened. For those who don’t take it too seriously, Amsterdam is messy fun even if dialing back the mayhem could yield a deeper emotional resonance.

Rated R, 134 minutes.