Nicole Kidman & Matthew Macfadyen play a couple who seem to have an ideal family life in the Dutch-themed Michigan town. As expected, their relationship’s underlying unease develops into much more. One of the complications involves her fellow teacher (Gael García Bernal), but any more information will spoil the plot. Kidman centers the movie with her suspicious, flighty wife, while Macfadyen embodies the supportive husband/father. Mimi Cave, who also directed “Fresh” (my review), starts with the “normal” and subverts it. She takes her time unfolding the story, which does have elements of predictability (I guessed the twist pretty early on). The production design must be noted: Their home is crammed with kitschy details in a nod to the culture of the Midwestern town. The music also has strong elements of 50s melodrama merged with Hitchcock scores. The slow-burn disruption of a seemingly-happy world has been done before with better writing, but this film benefits from the performances of Kidman and Bernal and is sufficiently involving.
The irony: Even though Holland is a real Michigan town, most of this (including the Tulip Time festival) was actually shot in Tennessee, which is where Kidman lives. 
(3 / 5)
