Tag: review

Holland (2025)

  • Director: Mimi Cave
  • Screenplay: Andrew Sodorski
  • Cast: Nicole Kidman, Gael García Bernal, Matthew Macfadyen, Jude Hill
  • Cinematography: Pawel Pogorzelski
  • Editing: Martin Pensa
  • Score: Alex Somers
  • Genre: Psychological thriller
  • Runtime: 108 minutes

Ah, Holland. Tulips aplenty, windmill blades rotating indefatigably, clogs adorn people’s feet. Oh, this isn’t the Holland you’re thinking of. This is Holland, Michigan – a city founded by Dutch Protestants upon arrival in the area in the mid 1800s. A place proud of its heritage, the traditions of their forefathers are still upheld by 21st century residents.

One of these customs is the annual Tulip Time Festival, celebrating the Dutch flower with a costumed parade. In small town America, any excuse to let your hair down isn’t taken – not when so many neighbourhood eyes are watching you and there’s the constant pressure to keep up appearances. Fred and Nancy Vandergroot are notable members of their community – Fred (Macfadyen) is an optometrist whilst Nancy (Kidman) teaches at the local school. They live the picture-perfect existence (cue whimsical score) with their son Harry (Jude Hill, the breakout performance of 2021’s ‘Belfast‘).

Fred takes frequent trips away with ‘work’ so naturally, Nancy gets suspicious of his whereabouts. “Is he having an affair?”, she wonders to her fellow teacher Dave (García Bernal), who she ropes in to help her with an investigation. Nancy and Dave’s *ahem* closeness threatens to overshadow the central mystery but we’re soon back on track looking for clues.

The setting is the year 2000 (as evidenced by pagers and box televisions) but there’s an overhanging feeling of something even more retro (as if 2000 could be considered vintage anyway, don’t make me feel old); Holland has this 60s Americana vibe to it – the town time forgot. Nancy worked so hard to fit in here that doing anything out of line might erase her oh-so-perfect life. It’s no wonder she’s plagued by gloriously hallucinatory nightmares.

Quirkily shot through the use of Fred’s train set and replica model of Holland, Mimi Cave’s film is like a weathered thriller novel; a little frayed at the edges, maybe the last page has been torn out yet it’s worth a read just the same.

My rating: 6 / 10

Maria (2024)

  • Director: Pablo Larraín
  • Screenplay: Steven Knight
  • Cast: Angelina Jolie, Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher, Haluk Bilginer, Kodi Smit-McPhee
  • Cinematography: Edward Lachman
  • Editing: Sofía Subercaseaux
  • Genre: Biographical psychological drama
  • Runtime: 124 minutes

How do you solve a problem like Maria?

This Maria – La Divina herself, the world famous opera singer Maria Callas – is troubled; she has a narcotics addiction, her vocal abilities are in decline and she’s beset by hallucinations. One such vision is of ‘Andrax’, a young reporter (who shares his name with a drug she’s dependent on). He’s come to walk with her through her life, down leafy Paris streets, in the last seven days before her death aged 53.

Ms. Callas is the third 20th century female icon Pablo Larraín has put under the spotlight, after Jacqueline Kennedy in ‘Jackie‘ (2016) and Princess Diana in ‘Spencer‘ (2021). Jolie’s Maria (performing 5% of the operatic vocals, the rest is lip-synced to the real Maria’s voice) is regal, enigmatic, and her accent an odd hybrid of English and somewhat ‘European’.

The film, separated into three acts and a curtain call similar to an opera, goes a little way into exploring what makes her tick but this all feels too shallow; we’re only scratching away a thin layer of an incredibly complex personality.

It’s a huge case of style over substance; an abundance of opulence and elegance; with Callas’ past triumphs on stage artfully depicted in black and white. However, I lost interest; I felt as though I was wading in the midst of mud, trudging around in search of the nearest escape. ‘Maria‘ inched along at the pace of a sloth, albeit one that was dressed to the nines in a satin gown. Ave Maria!

My rating: 5 / 10