Sometimes the ingredients just don’t mix together. The sum of the parts just doesn’t add up.
Nicole Kidman + Matthew Macfadyen + a rising director + a promising screenwriter = Great. Right?
Not quite for Holland.
The first two elements are enough on their own to make me run to the theater. Kidman and Macfayden each have a long list of accolades and a history of strong performances, but their individual runs in Big Little Lies and Succession make them two of the most exciting actors working today. And they each keep up that momentum on their own here — by exceeding the bounds of the movie that they’re tied to.
Holland could either be trimmed by 15 minutes or be turned into a 5-6 episode miniseries to pull the most out of their dynamic. Andrew Sodroski’s script just pales in comparison to director Mimi Cave’s first movie, Fresh. The 2022 film starring with Sebastian Stan and Daisy Edgar-Jones dripped with a bold identity and felt like a sprint even at two hours.
Holland, by comparison, feels like it is trapped in wooden clogs even at 10 minutes shorter in its runtime.
It’s impossible to describe the whole story without giving away spoilers. I do believe there is an audience that will appreciate the work done from start to finish if only for Kidman’s dynamic with Gael Garcia Bernal, getting into investigative mode together to uncover the mystery of Macfadyen’s character.
The quaint town of Holland, Michigan certainly provides a background that’s easy on the eyes, but its unique identity is hardly employed to its fullest as a Midwest town that Kidman’s character describes as the perfect place to live. The perfection she allegedly lives in does give a fun contrast of the feelings she harbors, the life she experiences, and the other life she desires. But the trap of a dutiful wife living behind a white picket fence along with a perfect husband feels all too familiar, and Holland isn’t able to find new grass to cut.
Once the worlds start combining, Holland is able to get audiences to lean forward, but once the loose ends get tied together in the third act, it feels easy to pull apart with an ending that feels almost entirely unearned.
Please pair Macfadyen and Kidman again, though. And let’s try this once more, with feeling.
