User reviews

I was very excited to see this movie as I am a fan of Nicole Kidman and Garcia and thought the premise sounded very interesting.

The first and second act is rather slow to build up for a rather strange and bizarre third act that unfortunately fails to deliver on its shock twist.

The sad part is this film easily could've been a classic on the level of a Cohen Brothers or David Lynch, but instead it ends with some silly premises that are so far-fetched and a bloody ending that has so many plot holes, you scratch your head almost laughing.

Kudos to Nicole Kidman for taking a chance on this film as always she's trying something different and unique and carries the film with Garcia whose role is rather 2 dimensional but this film had no chance even with a great Director as this horrible script ends up being more like a b movie.

5 stars for actors/ director.

When - 1:35 PM Where - Amazon Prime With Who - Myself

First Thoughts - I'll be honest, I've gone back and forth on whether or not to review this movie. This is because I actually worked on it as a Production Assistant for 17 days of filming. Right off the bat, I want to make it clear that my rating and issues with the overall movie has nothing to do with the amount of effort the entire cast and crew put into it. We worked our tails off to make this film happen, and I'm just happy that it's finally out.

That being said, frankly, this isn't a good movie at all. Even during production it was hard to nail down exactly what the story was and what even the point of it was. Now having seen the finished product, it's clear that the higher ups weren't sure either. This film didn't know what it wanted to be, bouncing between the psychological thriller, drama, erotic thriller like a pinball. The actors, all of whom are talented, did the best they could with what they were given. It's clear though that the script needed a few more passes before being pushed into production. A lot of it came across as over explaining and stunted, it didn't really flow naturally.

The cinematography was solid, Pawel Pogorzelski showcasing his talented eye as always. But the editing felt very off with abrasive cuts and odd choices of shots used that felt as though they were trying too hard to be unique.

Another thing story-wise that frustrated me were choices made by the characters, particularly those made by Nancy Vandergroot. The decisions she makes as the main protagonist are not warranted or justified at all. Sure they pay off in the very end, but they make zero sense when she makes the actual choice. This leaves her feeling erratic and paranoid, making it really difficult to root for her character.

Overall, while I'm proud of the work the entire crew and I did here, that hard work simply didn't come across in the final product.

Full Review to follow.

Watched this despite Nicole Kidman's notoriously breathy and childish voice and bad acting and was as expected, extremely disappointed. Terrible storyline. Other than mentioning Frankenmuth and having tulips in the trailer, there are no redeeming qualities.

Terrible in every way imaginable. Don't waste your time on this. Watch Ludwig it's a new detective/mystery series and is very good. I need 200 more characters just to post this, which is way to much time to waste on this abomination. Hollywood just keeps putting out garbage. I can't believe this is rated at a five right now. I was hoping to be the first to review it!

My Review- Holland Streaming on Prime My Rating 1/10

I can't find one positive comment to say about this trashy melodramatic misfire of a movie.

Is it a black comedy a suspense thriller or an attempt at some new blended genre ?

I really it's just a bomb in every way that misfires.

Nicole Kidman and Matthew McFadyen must have lost all sense of judgment to consent to star in this bizarre offering written by Andrew Sodroski and directed by Mimi Cave.

It starts off like a bad saccharine Disney fantasy and ends like some weird very bad 1960's suspense thriller.

Set in the cutest American town called Holland complete with tulips clogs we meet Nancy and Fred Vandengroot played by Nicole Kidman and Mathew McFadyen.

The one point I gave Holland is for the fabulous model railroad that the son Harry Vandengroot has complete with a tulip farm and farms with windmills.

Nancy is a teacher and homemaker with what seems like a picture perfect life with her husband Fred and son .

Until she suspects Fred of infidelity and engages the help of Dave a fellow teacher to help find evidence to support her suspicions.

From then on Holland sinks into a dyke and the plot just thickens like quicksand.

Someone should remind Nicole Kidman who I have admired in many movies and series the old showbiz adage "you're only as good as your last three movies"

Holland, is the definition of a surreal, psychedelic ride through mystery and bizarreness. Which I was expecting something just normal. I didn't watch the trailers or anything for this, so I had no idea what I was in for.

It's definitely not one of Nicole Kidmans best, but she does carry it so well for you to stay invested, along with all the other cast as well. The acting is great. The movie starts out pretty slow, a couple of things drag, you don't know what's going on, at some points you're trying to figure out what genre the movie is and then things just really start to unravel and get better. The cracks start to form. Things begin to escalate and come together. The unusual soundtrack, along with its strange cinematography, makes you feel like you're on this "high on life" and trip on acid.

Basically, the movie is a slow burn. It didn't leave me disappointed nor satisfied. It just will leave you in a state of "Okay...what did I just watch??" It's just one of those movies. Think Midsommar blended in with Scream. That's Holland. Not amazing, not bad, but weirdly interesting!

Reading the reviews I wasn't expecting much but Holland was a worthwhile watch for the acting. All three leads did a great job. I was particularly impressed with Matthew Macfadyen who got the accent perfect and was as typically cheery as you'd expect his character to be. As a Michigander I appreciated the local references though the commuter train was comically inaccurate. All the main characters are flawed which makes it an interesting watch from a human nature perspective.

It does end rather upbruptly and the viewer has to make some large assumptions about what happens next.

But the plot is intriguing and it covers ground rarely seen in the world of movie plots, so I'd say it's worth a look.

I was drawn to Holland because I liked Mimi Cave's work on Fresh quite a lot, so I figured, why not give this one a shot? Right from the start, though, I felt like I was watching a beautiful facade that slowly began to crumble. The movie sets up this idyllic suburban world that promises dark secrets lurking underneath, but it doesn't really deliver on that promise.

The screenplay is all over the place, disjointed, and full of abrupt plot turns that feel unearned. One minute you're settling into the slow burn of suburban perfection, and the next, bam, a twist that never had time to build up any real suspense. The tonal shifts between dark humor and suspense are jarring, and frankly, neither element is strong enough on its own to carry the movie. It's clear that the characters were meant to mirror the film's theme of artifice and hidden darkness, but aside from Nicole Kidman's Nancy, they're pretty underwritten. Kidman tries her best to hold everything together, and she does give a standout performance, yet her character doesn't have enough depth or substance to fully shine in a script that never really finds its footing.

There are some interesting ideas at play, like the notion of suburban perfection hiding a sinister underside. The use of the tulip imagery and all the Dutch-themed decor is visually stunning and adds to the unsettling beauty of the film. However, all that potential is let down by too many narrative gaps and twists that feel contrived. The theme of artifice, while promising, is never deeply explored, and it remains a surface-level idea. The pacing is another issue. The movie drags in some parts and then rushes through key moments in others, so it never really builds any proper tension.

Overall, its visual style and production design are definitely its strongest points, which capture an unsettling, almost beautiful atmosphere. But unfortunately, that style is bogged down by a poor script and uneven storytelling. Holland is a film with some bright flashes that, sadly, never come together as a cohesive whole.

Not sure why this film is getting so much hate. I live near Holland and they captured a lot of the vibe... tightly wound overly nice folks who don't say swear words. Without giving any spoilers, I enjoyed the cinematography and homage to 1950s films. The soundtrack also played into vibe. I thought the script was original and the acting was also great. While the accent was a bit more Minnesota than West Michigan, the actors are Australian, English, and Mexican, so I commend them. The surreal dream sequences were super quirky. I had a lot of fun watching it, and I really am not sure why so many people are giving it a bad review.

In 2000-based dramatic thriller "Holland" Nicole Kidman lives a life of apparent domestic bliss in her titular quaint Michigan town with optometrist hubbie Matthew Macfadyen & their young son Jude Hill... but prone to paranoia Kidman suspects Mcfadyen of having an affair, and 'persuades' colleague Gael Garcia Bernal to help her investigate - but is there anything to investigate, and if so, what? Mimi Cave (Nick's daughter) directs with a certain style (following up her awful "Fresh") but Andrew Sodroski's first solo screenplay takes 'slow-burn' to an all too sluggish level, and the climax ultimately isn't worth the time investment. It's passable entertainment, but only just.

Rating - 5.6: Overall, a lackluster mystery thriller that Nicole Kidman cannot save because the movie does a bad job trying to subvert your expectations because it tries to lead you down a bad path when searching for the mystery, but the foreshadowing in the beginning and promotional material for this movie already give the conflict away; the movie genuinely feels like 20-30 minutes worth of scenes were cut because there was a lack of context throughout and the movie just feels unfinished towards the end.

Direction - Pretty Bad: The direction on a macroscale is pretty good, as it creates this mystery set in a society stuck in the past, like Holland, Michigan; the direction on a microscale is pretty good, mainly because the main cast is filled with experienced actors, especially Nicole Kidman; the storytelling holds the movie back because it intentionally leads you down the wrong path in the mystery they are trying to solve, and once the actual conflict is revealed, it does not provide any context or explanation for why it happens; they artificially create tension to make this movie a thriller, but not in a good way because it feels obviously forced

Story - Bad to Pretty Bad: The concept as a whole is pretty good as it presents a conflict across a perfect, stuck-in-time utopia like Holland, Michigan; but that conflict is pretty poor as it intentionally leads the audience down the wrong path to subvert its expectations; the plot structure is a big issue for this movie because the movie basically leads you down an adventure to figure out a mystery, but then when you find out what the actual mystery is, it basically just ends the movie without giving any context or closure; it genuinely feels like 20-30 minutes of this movie was cut because the movie feels unfinished, evidenced by Rachel Sennott's one scene and the ending; the character writing is what you would expect for a movie like this because it follows your vanilla housewife in a traditional family investigating her mysterious husband

Screenplay - Bad to Pretty Bad: The dialogue is decent and gives the actors something to work with; the humor is decent and helps lighten the mood; the symbolism is not really that good because the movie never really builds on anything or shares why certain plot elements are important; the foreshadowing is a big problem for this movie because the movie foreshadows what the actual conflict for this movie is overtly and very early in the movie, but then the movie foreshadows and goes down a different path throughout the movie; however, because you remember what the foreshadowing was early in the movie, plus the promotional material makes the conflict pretty obvious, it is not shocking at all when the real conflict is revealed, so you just feel like you wasted 40 minutes to get to this point

Acting - Pretty Good: Nicole Kidman - Good (Nicole Kidman can never give a bad performance; it shows here because she really embodies the character and makes the most of what she is given; she has good chemistry with Macfayden and Bernal), Matthew Macfadyen - Pretty Good (Basically plays Tom Wambsgans, but more mysteriously; he has good chemistry with Kidman), Gael García Bernal - Pretty Good (He has pretty good charisma and has good chemistry with Nicole Kidman), Rest of the cast - Decent (A bunch of minor supporting characters do a decent job supporting the main cast)

Score - Pretty Good: Helps create mystery and tension

Cinematography - Pretty Good: Feels polished

Editing - Decent: Feels polished; the cut for this movie feels a little unfinished

Sound - Decent: Helps create tension and suspense

Production Design - Pretty Good: Helps create Holland, Michigan, this stuck-in-time utopian city

Costumes - Pretty Good: Helps bring Holland, Michigan to life

Pacing - Pacing is fine up until the actual conflict is revealed; then the movie just feels very mismanaged and rushed to get to the finishing line; I genuinely think that 20-30 minutes of this movie was cut, and that was needed to help provide needed context

Climax - The climax is very lackluster, with the ending feeling unfinished

Tone - Tone is what one would expect from a mystery thriller;

Final Notes - Saw the second premiere at SXSW.

First of all, let's talk about the elephant in the room: Nicole Kidman is too old for this role. She should play a grandma, not the wife. Her face not only is distracting, but sometimes it is scary. She reminds me of the Joker played by Jack Nicholson. Everybody gets old and wrinkly. Plastic surgeries, after a while, just make things worse.

Now, the script. It is silly, juvenile and the ending.... Oh boy! The ending is beyond stupid. The whole movie is pretty much tedious. I really do not understand how these" masterpieces" get the green light to be produced. The end result is embarrassingly bad.

After a while, I really did not care about what was happening, in fact I was dozing.

I've should read something about Holland or a book about tulips. It would have been more rewarding.

This movie is so disinteresting and does not follow the description Amazon provides at all. I cannot believe Nicole Kidman agreed to do this film. It is bad...sucky bad.

Kidman plays a housewife and mom in this in a totally normal and mundane family. Everyone is plain, from looks to personality to the story itself. She finds a plain looking partner for an affair and from there she is trying to prove her husband is cheating. He knows nothing as she snoops around and follows him. She ends up discovering something she wasn't expecting. Classic story done a million times usually as a side plot but this is the plot.

When I discovered the main plot of the movie, I quit watching. Maybe there was some twisty twist, I don't know. I was so bored out of my mind that I had to turn it off.

If I paid for this, I'd say I want my money back, but I only paid my time and I wish I could get that back.

During the first hour everything was normal, but then the story picked up and I was hooked. Exceptional performance by Matthew Macfadyen especially. Love everything he does. An incredible actor.

Nicole was fantastic. I throughly enjoyed the movie.

Went in with low expectation, came out smiling.

I really enjoyed not knowing where the story was taking me. Very light and comedic tones for most of the film and then it takes a sharp turn with horror elements. Needless to say, I had a fun time with this.

One of those films where by the twist at the end, and thereby the conclusion, I said to myself, "Is that really it?"

This is a true folk horror movie the acting and cast was by far the best the editing and filming was amazing and the dialogue was so good! If you like the movie midsommar this is definitely the movie for you it's filled with beautiful sets locations and extremely well done makeup effects. I loved how it was so happy then in the last second it hits you like a ton of bricks. I do understand folk horror is not for everyone but to the people who do like it you will enjoy this movie as much as I do it brought every element a good folk horror should have lots of costumes and historical aspects over all 7.5/10.

The early part of film was spot on what Holland, MI is like. It is conservative,slightly Dutch accent in some folks. I lived nearby in MI for long time and attended the Tulip Festivals. She got it down. I suspect the Vandergroots are Dutch Reform Church attendees by some of the things they said. I like it that she didn't know what was going on with her husband, but something was off and unreal. Even to the end she questioned if everything she experienced really happened. The continuing darkness and irony that she wanted to start an affair while she accused her husband of having affairs. Then, Delgado was odd man out, being Hispanic, yet he was important to Nancy 's life.

Based on early reports from SXSW I didn't expect much from this film, but I was pleasantly surprised. Director Cave does a good job introducing us to what appears to be a relatively happy family living mundane lives, but deliberately peeling back the onion to reveal the horror within. The writing was not brilliant and the story was underdeveloped, with some characters and plot lines introduced only to be abandoned. Fortunately the three lead actors elevate the material; Kidman's desperation to escape a suffocating life but maintain her family's status; Macfadyen's determination to keep his family safe from a dark world he knows more intimately than he should, and Bernal's earnest concern to help a woman against his better judgment. My takeaway from this film is that for those who live relatively comfortably but are yearning for a more exciting life, be careful what you wish for!

I adore Nicole Kidman. Thought this movie had promised, since we love the upper peninsula/Holland, Michigan (we are Wisconsinites), and we really enjoyed the thick Michigan accents - - ESPECIALLY from the two leads, one of whom is Australian and the other British. And it was interesting how one can't really firmly pinpoint the "time" setting of this movie because between the landline phones/cellphones, decor, etc., it was either the 90s or the early 2000s (the 90s are out because people had the rudimentary antennaed cellphones instead of the early monolithic ones - but by the same token, Michiganders ARE known - - just like us Wisconsinites - - for using something until it just falls apart). However, although it was dark-campy fun for a while, they screwed the ending so badly that it destroyed the movie. I wouldn't bother.

Considering the cast, this was very disappointing

Bad acting Horrible soundtrack Poor directing Bad script Horrible dream sequences that add nothing Inconsistent pacing but leaning towards glacial

And the voice of the lead actress was so annoying. Was this intentional or had she had some kind of problem. It really grated on my nerves

The film had sounded good but my wife and I were let down. A waste of time indeed

This is a film that would never get into my dvd collection, too boring

The setting of the film also made little sense and while some of the scenery was nice it added nothing to the film

Avoid this film.