SXSW 2025 review: an excellent Nicole Kidman can’t save ‘Holland’

One of the biggest draws at the SXSW Film & TV Festival is the chance to see the big movie premieres that take place at the famed Paramount Theatre in Austin, TX. The street is blocked off and fans line the barricades, hoping to get a glimpse of their favorite stars who grace the outdoor red carpet, festooned with the yellow SXSW theme.

The draw of a megawatt celebrity like Nicole Kidman was one of the big highlights I was looking forward to at the festival. Add in my favorite Succession actor, the wonderful Matthew Macfadyen (the best Mr. Darcy, btw) and Gael Garcia Bernal, and a woman-helmed director, the much-buzzed about Mimi Cave, you couldn’t have crafted a more enticing project to root for. Congress Ave., where the Paramount is situated, was decorated with a mini replica of the Holland set, which the game cast took photos with. In terms of glamorous premieres at the 2025 SXSW fest, this one was it.

So imagine my disappointment after watching the film premiere of Holland at SXSW. I witness several hop out of their seats afterwards, not even waiting for the Q & A from the director and stellar cast.

It’s truly baffling after watching the intriguing trailer, which gives a much different impression of the movie that transpired at the Paramount. What it demonstrates more than anything is the art that goes into making an incredible trailer. The trailer gave me the impression of a divergent movie premise, one that seemed much more mysterious than the movie that transpired in Texas.

First off, Kidman certainly does her best with a teacher and homemaker to the local optometrist in idyllic Holland, Michigan. The setting is around 2000, but the suburban village is more reminiscent of the 1950’s. As Nancy Vandergroot (a fantastic cinematic name, btw), Kidman brings a spunky humor to her detective instincts about her husband, but also manages to convey a sheltered innocence that represents her setting and the kind of refuge that led her to Holland. Nancy describes the town and her marriage as having been a haven from a prior difficult situation.

The trouble is we never find out details from that past, which I was hoping to hear more about. And this is a prevailing theme throughout the film. It all comes down to execution, where the movie just comes up short continuously.

The other confounding problem is the conceived character of Nancy. Kidman is one of the greatest actresses of our time and has been in almost everything (it seems like just when I’ve finished watching a film of hers, another trailer featuring the celebrated thespian shows up on my screen).

But in all honesty, we’ve been down this road with Kidman several times already. It begins with a frustrating marriage, with her character looking for an escape. The Australian was just nominated for a Golden Globe for this very dynamic in Babygirl, and she’s put in more captivating performances with similar circumstances in Stepford Wives and The Undoing. I’m not really sure why the five-time nominated Oscar winner keeps exploring this territory, but it would be refreshing to watch her take on a different journey. She’s already perfected this theme.

Kidman’s comedic bits in the first half of the film carry the scenes with Gael García Bernal, who plays a fellow teacher in the school, Dave Delgado. It’s clear there’s a mutual attraction, but their chemistry is so mediocre that it never transforms into anything alluring that the audience could latch onto. Bernal does his best, but a lack of dynamism is missing to the point that I couldn’t really invest in their developing love affair.

Again, everyone does their best with a script that undercuts them all the way. Same goes for the incredible Matthew Macfadyen, who has given us such lovely performances in Succession and Pride and Prejudice. Macfadyen is a gifted actor and I have to admit that the combo of him and Kidman had me particularly excited. As Kidman’s mysterious husband, Fred Vandergroot, Macfadyen gives it his all, but the script undermines him all along the way. The shocking reveal about his character comes out of left field, so much so that the implausibility is just impossible to ignore. You’re meant to be shocked, but the surprise never rises above the poor execution that makes the character choices just too hard to believe. Not fault of Macfadyen’s, though, who almost manages to pull off the surprise with his acting prowess.

It really comes down to execution, and that’s the problem with Holland. The set is stunning and certainly sets the scene to convey a stultifying atmosphere. All the actors turn in topnotch performances and the story idea is a brilliant one. But it just never gets off the ground.

The surprise twist takes too long to transpire, the noir-style thriller that the movie transforms into about two thirds in is too little too late, and the ending is an unsatisfying conclusion.

It leaves too many questions about the three main characters. What was Nancy’s life before? Why she felt she had to leave for Holland? Perhaps this could have provided the reason why she didn’t pick up on clues about the twist that gets revealed later on.

Also, why weren’t there clues about that twist? I know it was mean to shock, but it also has to be believable, and in order for us to get on board with the surprise, we needed to see the hints beforehand, even if they were just subtle. In this case, they were nonexistent. The dream sequences also don’t help the story along.

Holland has lots of style and an excellent cast, but just left me wanting more substance. The film was reviewed from the premiere at the 2025 SXSW Film Festival. Holland will premiere on Prime March 27.