Holland - Rather Disappointing for a Supposedly Psychological Thriller

I have seen this new movie released on Prime Video last week but did not have the chance to watch as I was in the middle of finishing other series. Last night while looking for something new to see, I remembered about the film and decided to watch it. OK, let's get it going then.

Brief Story Line

Story was set in the year 2000, in Holland, Michigan where school teacher Nancy (Nicole Kidman - The Perfect Couple mini series, Paddington etc) was living happily with her husband Fred Vandergroot (Matthew Macfayden - Deadpool & Wolverine, Ripper Street TV series etc) and their 13 year old boy Harry (Jude Hill - A Haunting in Venice etc). But when Nancy started noticing that Fred had been frequently going on conferences, she suspected of him having an affair.

With the reluctant help from fellow teacher Dave Delgado (Gael Garcia Bernal - Werewolf by Night, Coco etc), Nancy was trying to look into Fred. Things got further complicated when Nancy and Dave began to develop romantic feeling.

So how would the story conclude? You could find out in this movie.

End of Brief Story Line

The reason I was intrigued by the movie was its brief synopsis on Prime Video which seemed to hint interesting plot. Plus it was categorized as psychological thriller, something that I pretty much liked. When I started watching, I had a strong sense of other movies set in suburban area with the housewives feeling discontented with their lives. And frankly the first hour really felt like it was going only one direction, the proving of Fred's infidelity and the inevitable attraction between Nancy and Dave. Which is why I was disappointed as it did not feel like a psychological thriller at all but more like drama comedy.

Not until we reached more than 1 hour mark that something exciting finally happened. It was the best highlight in the film but sadly beyond that, there was nothing to surprise me. It had little thrill and a predictable ending, except for one thing that was never truly cleared up (I am talking about Dave). It was probably less disappointing if it was not categorized as psychological thriller but black comedy instead. That way I would not be expecting thrills or full of surprising twists. 

Btw, I thought the movie was adapted from a novel or something. But after finding out more, it was apparently based on Black List from year 2013 (I wrote about this list in previous posts, but in case you have not read, it's a list of most-liked screenplay not yet produced). The script was written by Andrew Sodroski and directed by Mimi Cave (known for directing that pretty entertaining Fresh). I read that critics were not impressed by the movie which sadly I concur, though the acting was praised especially Nicole Kidman. In this area I thought she did quite excel. I also liked Gael Garcia Bernal here who was quite convincing in his role.

Overall this was not a stand out psychological thriller movie. Throughout the first 1 hour or so, it did not fit into such genre at all, while the best part was very brief and it also had a predictable ending. One interesting thing to see here was the nice view/scenery of Holland, Michigan (I was not aware of such city's existence till I saw this movie). So if you are in the mood for an intriguing well crafted psychological thriller, this one would likely not be satisfying. But if you want to see a bit of fun of Nicole Kidman portraying unhappy suburban wife, then you could give it a try. Just be warned that there was nothing truly exciting apart from it and that one shocking moment. The choice is yours.

Mike's movie moments rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars