Holland

I read the original Black List script for this film years ago. It was cool, and the concept was a unique one for sure. But the director just didn't pull it off this time. No offense to Mimi Cave, I'm sure this was just the wrong material for her, but I've *heard* that, even though she's not credited as a writer, she got in there and messed around the with the very script that made this potentially special. Of course it coulda been the producers meddling in places they shouldn't have...who knows, I wasn't there. But it definitely, like so many other films, at least brings up the point that directors should sometimes just let themselves be directors. You don't HAVE to be a writer/director, but I'm sure the problem is that it's an ego thing, and that directors proclaim that they can write, just because they're creative in other ways... But I hope more directors will follow Scorcese, Spielberg, etc etc and stick to what they're good at and let the writers handle the writing/story/characters.

I was very excited to see this movie as I am a fan of Nicole Kidman and Garcia and thought the premise sounded very interesting.

The first and second act is rather slow to build up for a rather strange and bizarre third act that unfortunately fails to deliver on its shock twist.

The sad part is this film easily could've been a classic on the level of a Cohen Brothers or David Lynch, but instead it ends with some silly premises that are so far-fetched and a bloody ending that has so many plot holes, you scratch your head almost laughing.

Kudos to Nicole Kidman for taking a chance on this film as always she's trying something different and unique and carries the film with Garcia whose role is rather 2 dimensional but this film had no chance even with a great Director as this horrible script ends up being more like a b movie.

5 stars for actors/ director.

Rating - 5.6: Overall, a lackluster mystery thriller that Nicole Kidman cannot save because the movie does a bad job trying to subvert your expectations because it tries to lead you down a bad path when searching for the mystery, but the foreshadowing in the beginning and promotional material for this movie already give the conflict away; the movie genuinely feels like 20-30 minutes worth of scenes were cut because there was a lack of context throughout and the movie just feels unfinished towards the end.

Direction - Pretty Bad: The direction on a macroscale is pretty good, as it creates this mystery set in a society stuck in the past, like Holland, Michigan; the direction on a microscale is pretty good, mainly because the main cast is filled with experienced actors, especially Nicole Kidman; the storytelling holds the movie back because it intentionally leads you down the wrong path in the mystery they are trying to solve, and once the actual conflict is revealed, it does not provide any context or explanation for why it happens; they artificially create tension to make this movie a thriller, but not in a good way because it feels obviously forced

Story - Bad to Pretty Bad: The concept as a whole is pretty good as it presents a conflict across a perfect, stuck-in-time utopia like Holland, Michigan; but that conflict is pretty poor as it intentionally leads the audience down the wrong path to subvert its expectations; the plot structure is a big issue for this movie because the movie basically leads you down an adventure to figure out a mystery, but then when you find out what the actual mystery is, it basically just ends the movie without giving any context or closure; it genuinely feels like 20-30 minutes of this movie was cut because the movie feels unfinished, evidenced by Rachel Sennott's one scene and the ending; the character writing is what you would expect for a movie like this because it follows your vanilla housewife in a traditional family investigating her mysterious husband

Screenplay - Bad to Pretty Bad: The dialogue is decent and gives the actors something to work with; the humor is decent and helps lighten the mood; the symbolism is not really that good because the movie never really builds on anything or shares why certain plot elements are important; the foreshadowing is a big problem for this movie because the movie foreshadows what the actual conflict for this movie is overtly and very early in the movie, but then the movie foreshadows and goes down a different path throughout the movie; however, because you remember what the foreshadowing was early in the movie, plus the promotional material makes the conflict pretty obvious, it is not shocking at all when the real conflict is revealed, so you just feel like you wasted 40 minutes to get to this point

Acting - Pretty Good: Nicole Kidman - Good (Nicole Kidman can never give a bad performance; it shows here because she really embodies the character and makes the most of what she is given; she has good chemistry with Macfayden and Bernal), Matthew Macfadyen - Pretty Good (Basically plays Tom Wambsgans, but more mysteriously; he has good chemistry with Kidman), Gael García Bernal - Pretty Good (He has pretty good charisma and has good chemistry with Nicole Kidman), Rest of the cast - Decent (A bunch of minor supporting characters do a decent job supporting the main cast)

Score - Pretty Good: Helps create mystery and tension

Cinematography - Pretty Good: Feels polished

Editing - Decent: Feels polished; the cut for this movie feels a little unfinished

Sound - Decent: Helps create tension and suspense

Production Design - Pretty Good: Helps create Holland, Michigan, this stuck-in-time utopian city

Costumes - Pretty Good: Helps bring Holland, Michigan to life

Pacing - Pacing is fine up until the actual conflict is revealed; then the movie just feels very mismanaged and rushed to get to the finishing line; I genuinely think that 20-30 minutes of this movie was cut, and that was needed to help provide needed context

Climax - The climax is very lackluster, with the ending feeling unfinished

Tone - Tone is what one would expect from a mystery thriller;

Final Notes - Saw the second premiere at SXSW.

I know most people didn't like this movie, I saw the ratings, read the reviews. But something about Holland stuck with me. It's not perfect. The pacing is off, the story doesn't always make sense, and it acts like it has something profound to say... but never quite says it.

And yet, maybe that's the point.

This isn't really a thriller, despite what it says on the tin. It's more like a slow, quiet metaphor for how a lot of us live now, especially women. We share space, time, and even intimacy with people we don't really know. We pretend things are fine because it's easier than asking the scary questions. We sense danger but doubt ourselves. We stay.

Nicole Kidman's performance is subtle. Too subtle, maybe. But there's something in her stillness that made me feel uncomfortable in a good way. Like someone trying very hard not to fall apart in front of anyone else. And maybe that's what the movie is really about.

I don't expect most people to agree with this review. That's okay. Not everything needs to be loud to be true.

When - 1:35 PM Where - Amazon Prime With Who - Myself

First Thoughts - I'll be honest, I've gone back and forth on whether or not to review this movie. This is because I actually worked on it as a Production Assistant for 17 days of filming. Right off the bat, I want to make it clear that my rating and issues with the overall movie has nothing to do with the amount of effort the entire cast and crew put into it. We worked our tails off to make this film happen, and I'm just happy that it's finally out.

That being said, frankly, this isn't a good movie at all. Even during production it was hard to nail down exactly what the story was and what even the point of it was. Now having seen the finished product, it's clear that the higher ups weren't sure either. This film didn't know what it wanted to be, bouncing between the psychological thriller, drama, erotic thriller like a pinball. The actors, all of whom are talented, did the best they could with what they were given. It's clear though that the script needed a few more passes before being pushed into production. A lot of it came across as over explaining and stunted, it didn't really flow naturally.

The cinematography was solid, Pawel Pogorzelski showcasing his talented eye as always. But the editing felt very off with abrasive cuts and odd choices of shots used that felt as though they were trying too hard to be unique.

Another thing story-wise that frustrated me were choices made by the characters, particularly those made by Nancy Vandergroot. The decisions she makes as the main protagonist are not warranted or justified at all. Sure they pay off in the very end, but they make zero sense when she makes the actual choice. This leaves her feeling erratic and paranoid, making it really difficult to root for her character.

Overall, while I'm proud of the work the entire crew and I did here, that hard work simply didn't come across in the final product.

Full Review to follow.