Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
I think we’ve had a few reviews of this one already, but word on a new Verhoeven film is always welcome. Love the trailer for this, and I’m praying for wicked decadent Verhoeven, the one I really like...
Hi Harry and crew, Long time reader and all that. Since I couldn’t find any reviews of new Paul Verhoeven movie Zwartboek on the site I thought it would be nice if I sent you a review of the movie’s so-called pre-screening tonight (13th of September) in Amsterdam. If you're tired of Zwartboek reviews already, dump this one, writing this thing on its own was great fun. I’m Dutch myself, so I might be a bit prejudiced about our own most famous movie auteur, still I know that in geek circles all over the globe still hold him in high regard, and I like to count myself among those geeks. So when I’m enthusiastic about his work you know where that comes from. I was a bit weary going into this movie. On AICN I read talkbackers referring to this movie as ‘f*cked up Nazi sh*t’, and I was afraid they were expecting too much (or too little). Paul’s last foray into WWII history, Soldier of Orange was, while still unmistakeably a Verhoeven film, just about the most tame of his efforts. I was expecting more of that, and maybe even a bit tamer since the great man might have mellowed in his old(er) age. During the first thirty minutes I thought I was going to be right. The Verhoeven themes we all know and love are all there (mostly religion and breasts, mostly female), but it seems like the movie’s just going through the motions, like another recent Dutch WWII drama, Twin Sisters. A good cast, an experienced crew, a sturdy script, lots of potential but nothing to add to standard wartime movie the message (‘War sucks’, basically). But after a slow start Zwartboek truly comes into its own as a Verhoeven movie, mixing horror and humor, sensuality with terror, and before we know it the lines between good and evil are familiarly blurred. There’s not a whole lot of action, since there’s realism to consider and the movie’s budget, but when it comes it is shot clearly and energetically, always propelling the plot. Futher on, people who thought Basic Instinct was pushing the limits on female nudity will blink a few times during scenes with the lovely Carice van Houten, who after a shaky start assumes her leading lady duties in a way reminiscent of Rutger Hauer and Jeroen Krabbé in the ‘70s Verhoeven movies, triumphing even over an unnatural blond haircolor that make her look iffy in the trailers (in my eyes at least). The one major weak point I could discern after one viewing is the ‘recap dialogue’ in the middle of a series of plot twists, which insults the audience’s intelligence. You can even tell Van Houten en Derek de Lint or having trouble playing the scene. Concluding, Zwartboek is a worthy entry into Verhoeven’s oeuvre, both as an auteur movie and as superior entertainment with true-ringing messages about trust, guilt and all the boring morality stuff that makes this movie OK to see with you parents. At least, that’s how it works with Verhoeven movies over here. And about the ‘f*cked up Nazi sh*t’: you’d be suprised, but it’s all there, present and correct, but not in the way you guys are expecting it. If you use this, call me Jerry K.
