Directed by Mimi Cave, mystery thriller “Holland” follows Nancy Vandergroot (Nicole Kidman) as she discovers a twisted secret hidden beneath her “perfect” life. Vandergroot works with her friendly colleague, Dave Delgado (Gael García Bernal), to uncover the truth about her husband, Fred Vandergroot (Matthew Macfadyen), only to discover that nothing is what it seems.
“Holland,” which premiered at South by Southwest on Sunday, takes place in Holland, Michigan. Despite embodying a picture-perfect place, this tulip farm town leaves an uncanny feeling in the pit of the stomach. Nancy, a home economics teacher, and Fred, an optometrist, along with their son Harry Vandergroot (Jude Hill), all act as pillars of their close-knit, Dutch-influenced community. With Fred constantly away on business, Nancy starts to believe her husband is having an affair. She convinces fellow teacher Dave to help prove this, resulting in the discovery of a much darker secret.
With a 108-minute runtime, this film feels much longer. The movie’s first half harps on the affair plot for so long that the audience starts to lose interest in the storyline. The underlying secret begins to reveal itself in Nancy’s dreams through strong cinematography, however, the film gets lost in its own twists and turns and seems to lose itself midway through.
Though Kidman delivers a beautiful and comical performance, not even the “Big Little Lies” star could pull off this slow-paced script. Her character arc felt nonexistent, as the audience never truly met the real Nancy Vandergroot. The same goes for Bernal’s character, Dave, whose storyline felt thrown together. At one point, he becomes the victim of a racist attack that feels too on-the-nose and ultimately goes nowhere.
One notable element is the sound design. Cleverly placed high-strung violins during distressing and uneasy moments evoked the only suspenseful emotions in this “thriller.” Additionally, the soundtrack behind the Dutch dance, which Harry performed at the Tulip Festival, proved engaging and factual as it is based on a real event in Holland, Michigan.
Though a slow start, the film does pick up after the big secret’s reveal, and audience members scoot to the edge of their seats to watch the last 30 minutes play out. The vibrant and versatile set design taking hold in the tulip parade and eerie nightmares, combined with Cave’s clever directional choices that infuse comedy and showcase Nancy’s hypocrisy, had every intention of a great thriller.
“Holland” contains strong scenes but overall lacks depth and purpose. The ending, like the film itself, proved confusing and “Not what it seemed.”
2 pearl earrings out of 5
