So, you probably saw the trailer for that new Nicole Kidman project and thought, "Wait, is she in Amsterdam now?" Honestly, the confusion is real. When word first got out about a Nicole Kidman thriller Holland, half the internet seemed to think we were getting a moody, rain-soaked European noir set in the Netherlands. Instead, we got tulips, clogs, and a very different kind of nightmare in Michigan.
The movie is simply titled Holland, and it’s basically Nicole Kidman doing what she does best: playing a woman whose pristine, high-end life is actually a fragile glass house about to shatter into a million jagged pieces. It’s set in the early 2000s in the real-life town of Holland, Michigan. If you aren't from the Midwest, you should know this place is famous for its massive Dutch Heritage festival, which is exactly where the movie’s eerie vibes come from.
The Plot Twist No One Saw Coming (Except for the Trailer)
In Holland, Kidman plays Nancy Vandergroot. She's a high school "Life Management" teacher—which is basically just a fancy 2000s term for Home Ec—living in what she calls "the best place on Earth." She has the perfect husband, Fred, played by Matthew Macfadyen (who is leaning hard into his "creepy but polite" Succession energy), and a son played by Jude Hill.
But Nancy is bored. Like, dangerously bored.
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She starts suspecting Fred is living a double life. At first, you think it’s just a standard "husband is having an affair" plot. She even enlists her colleague, played by Gael García Bernal, to help her spy. But here’s the kicker—and the part that kind of annoyed some critics—the movie eventually reveals that Fred isn't just a cheater. He’s a serial killer.
The irony is that the marketing for the film sort of spilled the beans on this "twist" before most people even hit play. It turns the whole thing into a weird, darkly comedic cat-and-mouse game where the stakes are way higher than a messy divorce.
Why This Isn't Your Average "Thrama"
We’ve seen Nicole in the "troubled wife" genre before. Big Little Lies, The Undoing, The Perfect Couple—she practically owns the patent on it. But Holland feels different because it’s directed by Mimi Cave. If you saw her debut film Fresh (the one where Sebastian Stan sells human meat), you know she likes to take a familiar setup and then veer off into something much more unsettling and strange.
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- The Vibe: It’s very Stepford Wives meets To Die For.
- The Setting: The town is obsessed with its Dutch roots. We’re talking wooden shoes, windmills, and thousands of tulips.
- The Performance: Kidman plays Nancy as someone who is almost gleeful at the prospect of her husband being a monster because it finally gives her something interesting to do.
It’s definitely a "thrama"—that mix of thriller and drama—but it doesn't take itself as seriously as her HBO shows. There’s a scene involving a meatloaf mishap and some genuinely goofy dream sequences that make you wonder if you’re supposed to be laughing or hiding under the covers.
The Production Reality Check
Here is a bit of trivia that kind of ruins the magic: most of Holland wasn't even filmed in Michigan. Even though it’s called Holland and relies heavily on that Dutch-American aesthetic, the production largely set up shop in Clarksville, Tennessee.
They only spent about two days on-site at Windmill Island Gardens in the real Holland, Michigan, to get those iconic shots of the "De Zwaan" windmill. The rest was movie magic and a lot of imported tulips. It's a bit of a bummer for the locals, but that’s Hollywood for you.
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Comparing the "Holland" Projects
I’ve noticed some people get this mixed up with Kidman’s other big thriller, Babygirl. It’s an easy mistake to make because Babygirl was actually directed by Halina Reijn—who is Dutch. So, you have a movie set in Holland (Michigan) directed by an American (Mimi Cave), and another movie directed by a Dutch person set in New York.
If you're looking for the high-octane, "erotic thriller" Kidman, that's Babygirl. If you want the "Midwestern housewife losing her mind" Kidman, you want Holland.
Is It Actually Worth a Watch?
The reviews have been... well, mixed is a generous word. It currently sits with a pretty low score on Rotten Tomatoes (around 21%), mostly because people felt the tone was all over the place. One minute it’s a comedy, the next it’s a grisly crime story.
But honestly? If you love watching Nicole Kidman play someone on the absolute brink of a nervous breakdown, you’ll probably have a good time. She’s magnetic even when the script is thin. Matthew Macfadyen is also terrifyingly good at playing a "pillar of the community" who might be hiding bodies in the basement.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans
If you’re planning to dive into the Nicole Kidman thriller Holland world this weekend, here is how to handle it:
- Check the Streamer: It’s currently available on Prime Video. Don't go looking for it in theaters; it was a streaming-first release after its SXSW premiere.
- Adjust Your Expectations: Don't go in expecting a gritty, realistic crime drama. Think of it more as a campy, suburban satire with some dark edges.
- Watch the Predecessor: If you like Mimi Cave's style in this, go back and watch Fresh on Hulu. It’s a much tighter, more effective version of the "suburban horror" vibe she’s going for here.
- Keep an Eye on 2026: If this doesn't hit the spot, Kidman has Practical Magic 2 coming in late 2026. That's a totally different vibe, but it'll likely be the next big "event" for her fans.