- Release year: 2025
- Director: Mimi Cave.
- Producers: Kate Churchill, Peter Dealbert, Nicole Kidman, and Per Saari.
- Screenplay by: Andrew Sodroski.
- Cinematography by: Pawel Pogorzelski.
- Music by: Alex Somers.
Synopsis: a woman suspects her husband might be cheating on her, so she enlists the help of a coworker to investigate.
Shotgun Commentary: thriller-looking romantic drama made enjoyable only by great performances and even better production design.
Review
Holland is the story of Nancy (Nicole Kidman), a deeply traumatised woman who seeks refuge in a supposedly perfect community located in Holland, Michigan. The film revolves around her struggle to come to terms with the fact that life is never black and white.
An awkward development
The feature begins with Nancy preaching about the greatness of Holland, Michigan. She was brought there by her husband Fred (Matthew Macfadyen) with the promise of security and happiness, but this soon turns out to be nothing but an awfully dreary routine. Even her son is as cliché as it comes, leaving Nancy nothing but a huge hunger for something, anything to happen. Small ingredient swaps turn into full-on investigations of people who may or may not have done something bad, leading to her secret inquiry on her husband’s slightly odd behaviour.
Surprisingly enough, it is not the mystery of the husband that carries the narrative, but Nancy’s evolution as a character. Sure, figuring out what is going on with Fred drives the narrative, but not the audience’s attention.
It’s Nancy’s world, you’re just living in it
It is not the first time Nicole Kidman has carried the weight of a story on her own, and it probably won’t be the last. Still, not even the great Kidman-Macfadyen-Bernal trio can make the story more than it is: a romantic drama. Now, there is nothing wrong with romantic dramas, but if you have made the mistake of watching the trailer for this film, like yours truly did, the result is a bit of a disappointment. The trailer promises a Don’t Worry Darling (2022) type of narrative, and you are stuck with a love triangle with the occasional blood splatter. Not nearly enough thriller.
Still, Kidman’s performance is absolutely fantastic. As previously mentioned, her character is the most compelling by far, as it is the one that changes the most. Trauma and morality come together to create Nancy, a woman who lives for clarity but is desperately attracted by the grey areas of life. Her attitude is chaotic yet contained, honest yet deceiving, a world of contradictions that makes her hypnotic and weirdly relatable.
Supporting elements
As for her costars, Macfadyen plays the role of nice husband with a secret. The almost too good to be real man who is so perfect he’s boring. Macfadyen is an expert at playing the simp, especially since he has the kind features to match this role, but he’s been experimenting with more “evil” or morally-grey roles as of late, and he’s definitely having as much fun playing them as we are watching him. Taking chances is pretty much an actor’s duty if they want to show their real talent, and in a world of Paul Rudds and Jenna Ortegas, watching someone take chances is refreshing and so very exciting.
Gael García Bernal plays Dave, Nancy’s coworker and investigation partner. He is everything Fred is not. Namely, new, different, and passionate. Additionally, he has a crush on Nancy, a crush that she reciprocates, leading to a whole new level of “find the villain” in the story. Bernal plays his character adequately, delivering as best as possible even when Dave’s behaviour makes absolutely no sense.
The faulty story is roughly patched with a great production design, especially the one during Nancy’s nightmares, which are arguably the most interesting moments of the feature. Regardless of how bland certain events are, the production design is always there with great settings and a great cinematographer to provide, at the very least, beautiful content.
All in all, Holland is not a bad film. However, it did promise a lot more than it managed to deliver, making it mildly disappointing. The visuals are fantastic, and the cast is wonderful, two factors that save what would otherwise be a pretty average drama or a boring thriller.
Advice to take from this movie:
- No place is perfect. If it looks perfect, dig deeper.
- No person is perfect. The same procedure as above applies.
- If you do something you are not supposed to, at least TRY to not be obvious about it…
What’s your take? Have you watched Holland? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀