“Holland”, a thriller with Nicole Kidman and Matthew Macfadyen, first at the South by Southwest Film Festival in early March. I was there for his second projection at the festival and I had a good time, but apparently, I was strange: the film has a 23% criticism on Rotten Tomatoes, a solid 37% below what it had to be fresh. When he released on Prime Video on March 27, the public did not seem to love him either. It has a 24% audience note on Rotten Tomatoes, as well as a note of 5.0 out of 10 on IMDB. The low note is confusing for me because “the astronaut”, ” which is the worst film of the festivalis sort of beat him with his RT score by 45%.

Advertisement

Despite all this, the subscribers of Prime Video watch “Holland” en masse. This is currently the most seen film of the week on the platform, just behind the Hit 2024 blockbuster “Twisters”. Of all Amazon’s original films on the platform this week, “Holland” is the most watched.

Why is it so popular? It is perhaps because everyone loves Nicole Kidman, who gives a delicious performance here as a troubled and curious housewife Nancy Vandergroot. Or maybe it is because they like Matthew Macfadyen, who plays the strangely secret and controlling husband of Nancy, Fred. The two actors bounce very well here, with Macfadyen channeling part of this Sleazy, clumsy Tom Wambbsgans Energy This “succession” fans know and love.

Advertisement

I think the reason why “Holland” was not loved by criticism or the public is that his premise is a bit played. She is an apparently happy housewife in an apparently perfect city who discovers that everything on which she built her life is a lie. We have Given this kind of story a million times beforeAnd although “Holland” is different enough to remain entertaining, it is never different enough to stand out in this sugar streaming landscape. It doesn’t help that The trailer Throwing the hand a little too; I entered the film with no expectations, while anyone who saw the trailer can probably guess the great twist before the film begins.

Advertisement

The most important thing working against “Holland” is the fact that outside the SXSW festival at least, it was not published in theaters. It’s a shame because it’s an surprisingly funny film. And even when it is not funny, he always launches juicy twists and turns you who turn which are designed to obtain an audible reaction from the public. Part of the reason for which I appreciated the film so much was because I watched it with a crowd full of people who had queue for more than an hour just to enter, which laughed with each joke and breathing in each intrigue.

It is difficult to overestimate how much some films may seem better when the public treats it as an event, rather than something that they can light up with casualness in their living room. “Glass Onion”, for example, seemed to obtain a stronger audience reception during that Brief window where he played in theaters at the end of 2022. When it was finally published on Netflix, the public seemed less impressed, more nitpicky, less willing to engage with work at a deeper level. I do not think that “Holland” would have never been a huge critical / public success in theaters, but there is a good chance that it has obtained much more buzz than it does now. However, becoming film No. 2 on the Prime video is certainly not bad.

Advertisement