Holland
By Sioph W. Leal
Nancy Vandergroot (Nicole Kidman) is a meticulous homemaker and teacher living a picture-perfect life with her husband Fred (Matthew Macfadyen) and son Harry (Jude Hill) in the tulip-filled Holland, Michigan. It all falls apart when Nancy and her friendly colleague Dave (Gael García Bernal) become suspicious of Fred and try to discover his secret for their own gain. Holland promises that everything is not what it seems secret but does not live up to it.
The perfect life falls apart because of a missing earring Nancy suspects the babysitter has stolen only to be dismissed by her husband, claiming she only wants there to be a mystery to solve. Deep down she’s restless and begins seeking out ways Fred is suspicious. There’s a few references to the couple's troubled past but it seems the cause of this is simply that she is bored. Despite the family being liked in the community and the mention of other friends, Nancy only confides in one person- her work friend Dave which makes Holland feel even smaller than what was shown. In her boredom and seemingly wanting paranoia, Nancy suspects her husband of an affair, but it quickly becomes clear that is only an excuse to spend time with Dave and start one of her own. That isn’t to say Fred is without cause of concern. One moment, Nancy catches him playing with their son but they’re cutting off limbs of a plastic toy woman that has a disturbing air to it and seems more than a father and son bonding over their train set.
There is both too much and too little going on in the movie. It isn’t until the walkway point when Fred’s secret is revealed that the movie becomes interesting and there is a slightly unexpected twist to his actions but it falls flat in moments outside of this scene. Holland almost gets it back near the end when Fred seriously, and impossibly, shows up and it promises another twist but never delivers. It’s a moment of excitement that quickly falls flat, made worse by an ending that hints to a better twist.Just before the credits roll a male voice takes over Nicole Kidman’s words from the opening as she describes life in Holland as the best place on Earth, hardly real, everyone has a story to tell, and the same or similar words end the movie but overtaking her voice is a man. It's ominous but completely different from the rest of the movie. Was it real? It suggests none of it was, just a story to tell but saving that to the very end gives it was all a dream type of ending that comes off frustrating rather than mysteriously imaginative.
The most interesting things about the movie are the score and the visuals. Without them, it would be a complete bore fest. The music never feels over the top despite its grandeur and ability to make the tired parts of Holland manageable but gives a classic nostalgia feel reminiscent of classic movies which pairs nicely with the visuals however nothing much else helps salvage this movie. Kidman and Macfadyen do their best, most notably Macfadyen who treads a careful line between charming and sinister, but the writing tries too hard to make for an enjoyable plot.
Holland streams globally March 27, 2025 on Prime Video.