Holland (2025) Review: Stylish but Hollow Thriller

Nicole Kidman shines in Holland, a visually striking thriller with a fascinating premise, but its weak screenplay leaves it feeling hollow.

Directed by Mimi Cave and written by Andrew Sodroski, this thriller sets out to unravel the darkness hiding within small-town perfection, drawing inspiration from films like Blue Velvet, Stepford Wives, and Don’t Worry Darling. Unfortunately, despite a fascinating premise and a strong lead performance from Kidman, Holland struggles to balance its stylish aesthetic with substantive storytelling, resulting in a film that feels hollow and far less intelligent than it aspires to be.

Kidman plays Nancy Vandergroot, a dedicated schoolteacher and devoted wife to well-respected optometrist Fred (Matthew Macfadyen, of Succession). Their life in the tulip-filled town of Holland, Michigan, is nothing short of idyllic, or at least, that’s how it appears on the surface. Beneath the cheerful smiles and quaint traditions, something feels off. When Nancy stumbles upon a metal box filled with Polaroids, her suspicions begin to grow, leading her down a rabbit hole of secrets that threaten to unravel everything she thought she knew about her life. Enlisting the help of her coworker Dave (Gael García Bernal, of Cassandro), Nancy embarks on a clumsy but determined amateur investigation, one that slowly peels back the polished veneer of her town, revealing something far more sinister.

Visually, Holland is striking. The cinematography embraces a bright, almost artificial color palette, making the greens and yellows pop in a way that enhances the film’s eerie contrast between beauty and deception. This visual style effectively mirrors Nancy’s perspective, a world that appears warm and inviting but slowly turns suffocating as the truth emerges. The movie’s strongest element is undoubtedly Nicole Kidman, who delivers a reliably compelling performance, carrying the film even when the script falters. Macfadyen and Bernal offer solid support, though neither is given enough to make their characters particularly memorable beyond their narrative functions.

Where Holland falters is in its screenplay. Despite an intriguing setup, the film quickly reveals itself to be more style than substance. The story moves at a sluggish pace, failing to generate the tension or psychological depth needed to make Nancy’s unraveling truly gripping. While the final act attempts to inject some much-needed energy, by then, it feels too little, too late. The movie clearly wants to be a sharp, subversive thriller, but its twists feel predictable, and its themes lack the depth necessary to leave any impact. Instead of delivering a truly unsettling portrait of hidden darkness, it settles for a glossy, surface-level mystery that never quite justifies its own buildup.

Ultimately, Holland is a film that teases brilliance but never fully delivers. It has all the right ingredients: a fascinating premise, a talented cast, and a visually appealing aesthetic, but it squanders them on a screenplay that feels hollow and uninspired. While Kidman does her best to elevate the material, the film’s lack of substance makes it more of a forgettable diversion than a thrilling experience.

Holland is now available to stream globally on Prime Video.