Holland Parent Guide
Good performances aren't enough to compensate for poor pacing and obvious plot holes.
Parent Movie Review
Despite her idyllic life in Holland, Michigan, Nancy Vandergroot (Nicole Kidman) is unraveling. A home ec teacher by day, she continues her life of domestic devotion at night, caring for her 13-year-old son, Harry (Jude Hill) and optometrist husband Fred (Matthew Mcfadyen). Behind her smile, Nancy questions the foundations of her life: in particular, she suspects Fred of having an affair. To see if her suspicions are accurate, she convinces a fellow teacher, Dave (Gael Garcia Bernal), to check up on Fred while she does her own investigating. But what she finds isn’t what she expected…
I spent the first two-thirds of the film struggling to pay attention. Events feel staged, plot holes are annoying, Nancy is not terribly sympathetic, and her relationship with Dave is unconvincing. There are a few bright spots in the movie: the town’s emphasis on all things Dutch makes the movie feel off-kilter and contributes to a surreal vibe. In addition, Nancy’s dissatisfaction with her life and marriage are believable, and are painfully expressed when she says, “My life is like carbon monoxide. It’s so sleepy and comfortable that I don’t even know I’m suffocating.” Once the truth of the past is uncovered, the film picks up pace and the tension ratchets up, but for many viewers that might come too late.
There will also be viewers who are uncomfortable with the movie’s negative content. Alcohol consumption and a clothed sex scene would be PG-13 material, but the profanity, including eight sexual expletives, is in Restricted territory. The bigger issue is violence, including a bloody premeditated murder and a killing in self-defense. This isn’t a film for family audiences.
My complaints aside, genre fans might find some things to enjoy. The filmmaking is competent, with sets that feel both cloying and claustrophobic thanks to the visually busy wallpapers that cover so many of the walls. The acting is also good. Nicole Kidman is convincingly brittle and Matthew Mcfadyen is suitably irksome as her patronizing husband. I swear, if he tapped her on the nose one more time, I thought I was going to start yelling at him. If you’re a thriller fan acting and cinematography might be enough for you to enjoy the film. It just wasn’t enough for me.
Directed by Mimi Cave. Starring Nicole Kidman, Matthew Mcfadyen, Gael Garcia Bernal. Running time: 108 minutes. Theatrical release March 27, 2025. Updated March 27, 2025Watch the trailer for Holland
Holland
Rating & Content Info
Why is Holland rated R? Holland is rated R by the MPAA for some bloody violence, language and brief sexuality
Violence: Men hit and punch each other. A man hits a truck with a baseball bat. A man rams a truck into a mailbox. There’s mention of multiple past murders. A man slits a woman’s throat on screen with bloody detail. Men have a fight involving punching, kicking, and shoving. A man stabs an attacker, who falls into a lake. There is a dream sequence of a man being eaten alive by dogs. A man is hit in the head with a falling TV set and bleeds from the wound. A man hits a woman. A person gets shot in the head with bloody detail. A person is clubbed in the head with a hard object.
Sexual Content: There are repeated scenes of a man and married woman kissing: in one, he’s shirtless and she’s down to her bra. There’s a brief scene of marital sex which doesn’t involve nudity. A married woman fantasizes about another man and it’s implied that she’s masturbating but the activity is below screen. A man suggests a child will get molested.
Profanity: The script contains at least eight sexual expletives, ten terms of deity, seven scatological curses, and a couple of minor profanities. A crude term for male genitalia is used as is a homophobic slur.
Alcohol / Drug Use: Adults drink alcohol in a bar.
Page last updated March 27, 2025
Home Video
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Other films with similar themes include Dial M for Murder, Woman of the Hour, The Invisible Man, Monstrous, The Color Purple, Herself, Georgetown, and Alice, Darling.