As Nicole Kidman continues her mission to champion feminine administrators, her newest position in writer-director Mimi Cave‘s Holland is proof optimistic of that very expertise.
The Midwestern thriller stars the Oscar-winning actress as Nancy Vandergroot, a house economics trainer who feels so completely protected along with her husband Fred (Matthew Macfadyen) and their son Harry (Jude Hill) within the picturesque Dutch-themed city of Holland, Michigan, that she idly wonders if it’s even actual. However a lacking pearl earring sends her down a conspiracy rabbit gap, which is barely made deeper by her shop-teacher co-worker Dave Delgado (Gael García Bernal), who has eyes for her, humoring her each whim.
Set within the aughts, the movie is stacked with references to Blockbuster, Juggalos and Nokia cell telephones, in addition to a microfiche homicide thriller montage. The acquainted environment of a time not thus far eliminated additionally evokes the false security of a Bush-era suburban life the place actual hazard is at house.
For Nancy, the wrestle is trusting her instinct and doing what’s proper whereas prioritizing the security of herself and her son, who idolizes his dad and expresses typical bratty teen contempt for his mother.
As she turns into extra consumed in what appears to be a thriller of her personal making, Nancy begins to throw out her ideas, beginning an affair with Dave whereas suspecting Fred of doing the identical. Later, she ignores her “no junk meals” rule whereas staking out her husband along with her new lover. However that pales compared to what they uncover.
Kidman’s witty and manic efficiency makes the movie look like a religious sequel to Gus Van Sant’s To Die For (1995), full with biting darkish humor and a fair darker thriller they unravel, reminding followers why they fell in love along with her 30 years in the past.
As at all times, Bernal provides a captivating and intense efficiency as a person conflicted by his personal darkish previous, in addition to his emotions for Nancy and the difficulty that surrounds her. Their chemistry emphasizes the drift rising between Nancy and Fred, who’ve grown too snug of their little slice of life that they miss what’s happening proper below their noses.
Macfadyen is the right creepy suburban dad, gaslighting his spouse into submission when not tending to his mannequin practice and city together with his son in a picket shed.
In a single scene, Nancy experiences a loopy dream that foreshadows her grisly discovery, discovering herself within the mannequin city, which holds a darkish secret. Might that secret be that AI-generated results had been used behind-the-scenes to create a part of that dream? It actually appeared that means.
However that’s one of many only a few gripes I had with this movie, aside from the truth that Rachel Sennott was criminally underutilized, making a short however comedically worthy look as Nancy’s grunge nanny who shortly will get the boot and is clueless as to the rationale.
Holland is a superbly composed portrait of the claustrophobia of suburbia and the darkness simmering beneath the niceties of the Midwest. Be it touring the world, a passionate affair or a sinister secret, everyone seems to be simply on the lookout for a means out their very own private hell.
Title: Holland
Competition: SXSW (Headliner)
Distributor: Amazon MGM Studios
Launch date: March 27, 2025
Director: Mimi Cave
Screenwriter: Andrew Sodorski
Forged: Nicole Kidman, Matthew Macfadyen, Jude Hill, Gael García Bernal
Working time: 1 hr 48 minutes
