Common Sense Media Review
By Jennifer Green
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Inconsistent thriller with violence, sex, and language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Holland
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Nancy Vandergroot (Nicole Kidman) lives with her optometrist husband, Fred (Matthew Macfadyen), and young son, Harry (Jude Hill), in traditional HOLLAND, Michigan. She also teaches life skills at a local high school, where she is friends with shop teacher Dave Delgado (Gael Garcia Bernal). When she begins to suspect her husband might be cheating on her, she enlists Dave to help her gather evidence. Their collaboration reveals their deeper feelings for each other, and also the potentially darker nature of Fred's double life.
Is It Any Good?
Purposefully unreal, the meticulous production design of this film compensates for a thin story but also ultimately undermines it, even despite three skilled lead actors. The 1950s-reminiscent look and feel of a Dutch heritage town in Holland suggest that though things might seem perfect on the surface, something evil lurks beneath. The unraveling of that evil is a much less interesting storyline than the charmingly offbeat attraction between Kidman's and Garcia Bernal's characters. All of the characters seem to be speaking and behaving in a way that's almost as superficial as the setting, an uncanny reality that's less unnerving than it aims to be.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the setting and look of Holland. How would you describe it? How does the film make the setting feel unreal, and how does this contribute to the overall mood of the movie?
What significance does the model railway and town have for the various characters? In some scenes, it seems like Nancy is actually inside the model town. Why?
What genre is this film? Who is the intended audience?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : March 27, 2025
- Cast : Nicole Kidman , Matthew Macfadyen , Gael Garcia Bernal
- Director : Mimi Cave
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Director(s) , Female Movie Actor(s) , Latino Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Prime Video
- Genre : Thriller
- Run time : 109 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : bloody violence, language and brief sexuality
- Last updated : April 8, 2025
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