Film Review: If Only It Was Just An Affair…

Holland is a psychological thriller that has a few moments of almost being interesting but just couldn’t quite get there. Mimi Cave is the director of this mediocre cinematic effort, which was written by Andrew Sodroski. Nicole Kidman has the lead role and is accompanied by a cast which includes Matthew Macfadyen, Gael Garcia Bernal, Jude Hill, and Rachel Sennott.

Nancy Vandergroot is a teacher in the small town of Holland, Michigan, which is rather proud of its Dutch American roots. She is quite happy with her family until she starts to wonder if her husband, who travels a lot for work, is having an affair. She enlists the help of a friend and colleague to help her confirm her suspicions; however, the truth is something that is far worse.

The film does have some elements that are somewhat interesting, but somehow the end result is still rather hollow. The exploration of Dutch American roots is something not commonly displayed in movies, so I thought that was a decent start. I think that I had a hard time really caring about any of the main characters. Kidman is usually a solid casting choice, and she does fine with this role, but there is nothing all compelling about her character. I had a hard time being all that interested in her plight that starts to unfold.

The plot of a seemingly dutiful husband’s double life is somewhat overdone even if the setting in this film was a little eccentric and unique.

The performances were not terrible, which was helpful, but also nothing was all that memorable. The town did seem to have some charm.

Although it’s hard to have any real criticism of the film’s technical elements, I just found that it was missing something that should have made it more gripping.