‘Holland’ Review: Nicole Kidman Leads Mimi Cave’s Manic Midwestern Thriller — SXSW
NICOLE KIDMAN in HOLLAND. Courtesy of Prime Video
A Taut Suburban Thriller That Unmasks the Darkness Beneath Domestic Bliss
Nicole Kidman has long been drawn to roles that explore the uneasy undercurrents of seemingly perfect lives. Whether as a scheming weather reporter in To Die For, a grieving mother unraveling in The Others, or a therapist navigating deception in The Undoing, she has mastered the art of portraying women caught in webs of suspicion and desire. In Holland, her latest psychological thriller from director Mimi Cave, Kidman delivers another powerhouse performance, this time as a Midwestern housewife who peels back the facade of her picturesque life to uncover something far more disturbing than she ever imagined.
Set in the early 2000s, Holland immerses itself in the era’s aesthetic—flip phones, Blockbuster rentals, and microfiche research montages—while its themes remain chillingly timeless. The film plays with the illusion of safety, contrasting suburban serenity with the gnawing fear that danger lurks closest to home. Anchored by an electrifying performance from Kidman, Cave’s thriller is a sharp, stylish, and deeply unsettling meditation on trust, betrayal, and the lengths one woman will go to protect herself and her son.
Cracks in the Perfect Family Portrait
MATTHEW MACFADYEN and JUDE HILL star in HOLLAND Courtesy of Prime Video
Nancy Vandergroot (Kidman) has the kind of life that should feel secure. She teaches home economics, bakes pies, and dotes on her teenage son, Harry (Jude Hill). Her husband, Fred (Matthew Macfadyen), is a mild-mannered, soft-spoken man whose hobbies include maintaining an elaborate model town in their backyard. But for all its wholesome charm, the quaint Dutch-inspired town of Holland, Michigan, hides a creeping sense of unease—one that Nancy can’t shake.
It starts with something small: a missing pearl earring. This seemingly insignificant detail sends Nancy into a quiet spiral of paranoia, her suspicions snowballing into full-blown obsession. Fred has been acting strange. Is he hiding something? Could he be having an affair?
Her suspicions are stoked by her flirtatious co-worker, Dave Delgado (Gael García Bernal), a charismatic shop teacher who entertains Nancy’s growing fears while drawing her into an illicit affair of her own. But what begins as a desperate act of rebellion soon turns into something far more sinister when Nancy follows Fred and stumbles upon a secret that makes infidelity look quaint by comparison.
As Nancy digs deeper, she starts to shed the carefully constructed identity she has spent years cultivating. The woman who once enforced strict household rules about junk food is now holed up in a parking lot, eating fast food with her lover while spying on her husband. She tells herself she’s fighting for her family, but her actions grow increasingly reckless. The real question is, does she want the truth—or just an excuse to burn it all down?
A Masterclass in Suspense and Suburbia’s Hidden Horror
NICOLE KIDMAN in HOLLAND. Courtesy of Prime Video
Cave, best known for Fresh, once again proves her ability to blend psychological unease with razor-sharp storytelling. Her direction is both playful and meticulous, allowing tension to build in small, unsettling moments before escalating into full-blown madness. A particularly haunting dream sequence—where Nancy finds herself trapped inside her husband’s model town—delivers one of the film’s most visually striking and eerily symbolic moments. It’s a chilling metaphor for the control Fred has over their lives, and it sets the stage for the horrors to come.
Matthew Macfadyen is pitch-perfect as Fred, infusing the character with a blend of warmth and menace that keeps the audience guessing. His soft-spoken demeanor and unwavering patience make him the ideal suburban dad—until it becomes clear that his kindness may be masking something far more chilling. Watching him gaslight Nancy with quiet, patronizing charm is infuriating, and Macfadyen plays the role with the kind of slow-burning intensity that turns even mundane moments into psychological warfare.
Bernal, as Dave, brings an easy charm that makes it clear why Nancy is drawn to him, but his character is also laced with a quiet sadness. He’s a man with his own demons, equally desperate for escape, making their affair feel less like reckless passion and more like two drowning people clinging to each other.
Jude Hill, as Harry, delivers a performance that feels both authentic and deeply unsettling. His teenage disdain for his mother’s concern gradually morphs into something more heartbreaking as he begins to realize that his father might not be the man he thought he was.
Rachel Sennott, despite having only a small role as Nancy’s rebellious grunge nanny, steals every scene she’s in. Her brief screen time provides some of the film’s best moments of comedic relief, making it all the more disappointing that she doesn’t have a larger role.
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A Stylish and Unnerving Look at the Price of Complacency
Holland isn’t just a thriller—it’s a biting examination of the ways in which people convince themselves that everything is fine, even when the truth is staring them in the face. The film plays with the idea of wilful ignorance, showing how easily people dismiss their instincts in favor of maintaining an illusion of stability.
Nancy is a woman who has spent years convincing herself that her life is exactly what it should be. She loves her husband, she loves her son, and she loves her town. But when that illusion shatters, the fallout is devastating. She’s forced to confront not only Fred’s secrets but also her own complicity in the life she’s built.
The film’s final act is a masterclass in tension, leading to a climax that is both shocking and deeply satisfying. Without spoiling too much, let’s just say that Nancy learns the hard way that some secrets are better left buried.
A Thrilling, Darkly Funny, and Utterly Addictive Noir
NICOLE KIDMAN and GAEL GARCIA BERNAL star in HOLLAND Courtesy of Prime Video
Holland cements Mimi Cave as one of the most exciting directors working in the thriller genre today. With its clever script, stylish direction, and a powerhouse performance from Nicole Kidman, the film is a gripping, deeply unsettling exploration of trust, betrayal, and the darkness lurking beneath suburban perfection.
This isn’t just a mystery—it’s a sharp, darkly funny, and occasionally brutal examination of what happens when a woman finally stops pretending everything is okay. If To Die For and Gone Girl had a Midwestern love child, Holland would be it.
Whether you come for the murder mystery or the biting social commentary, Holland is a film that lingers long after the credits roll—an unsettling reminder that sometimes the most terrifying monsters are the ones we’ve been living with all along.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Holland
Festival: SXSW (Headliner)
Distributor: Amazon MGM Studios
Release Date: March 27, 2025
Director: Mimi Cave
Screenwriter: Andrew Sodroski
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Matthew Macfadyen, Jude Hill, Gael García Bernal, Rachel Sennott
Running Time: 1 hr 48 mins
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