Holland streams on Prime Video beginning Thursday, March 27. This review is based on a screening at the 2025 SXSW FIlm and TV Festival.A small town with a secret isnt an inherently American trope plenty of Nordic murder mysteries revolve around the concept, for example but it does pair ever so deliciously with wholesome Americana. David Lynch knew that theres a guilelessness to retro diners and suburban cul-de-sacs that makes the evil that resides in the hearts of the people there both sinister and hilarious, as did the Coen Brothers when they made Fargo back in 1996. The new Nicole Kidman vehicle Holland draws more from the latter, trying hard to wring sardonic commentary out of the contrast between its setting Holland, Michigan, the Upper Midwests little slice of the Netherlands and its story, which begins with lies and infidelity and gets more sordid from there.Holland begins with a montage of sunny tulip fields and windmills cut together with blonde children posing in wooden shoes and white Dutch bonnets, straining to smile with braces on their teeth. Before I moved to Holland, I was afraid and confused and couldnt trust anyone, Kidman says in voiceover. The Oscar winner puts on a specific-enough gahsh-durnit accent for her starring role as Nancy Vandergroot, a part-time home ec teacher and wife of the local eye doctor. Combined with the open-mouthed naivet with which she greets, well, everything a moment when she reacts with shocked amusement to a scene in Mrs. Doubtfire is as funny as Holland gets she creates the impression of a sheltered woman who thinks that brown mustard is spicy. Except she isnt, because we already heard her contradict that in her opening narration. This is presumably supposed to create some sort of tension. But for a movie with this much intrigue, Holland is remarkably lacking in suspense. Much of the blame can be placed on plotting that creates and then abandons multiple storylines. For example: Rachel Sennott of Bottoms and Bodies Bodies Bodies fame appears in a cameo (shes fourth billed, but its not substantial enough to be called a supporting role) as the Vandergroots babysitter Candy, who Nancy accuses of theft after one of her pearl earrings goes missing. Nancy later locates the earring, but we never find out if Candy got her job back. Kind of rude for such self-proclaimed nice people, honestly.Still, thats nothing compared to how callous the movie is towards Dave (Gael Garca Bernal), Nancys coworker and co-conspirator after she becomes convinced that her husband, Fred (Matthew Macfayden), is cheating on her. Dave is obviously in love with Nancy. And, whether shes oblivious or purposely leading him on, she takes advantage of his enthusiasm. Dave is also a Chicano in a majority white town, and Holland underlines his outsider status with a scene where a local drunkard and his large son harass him at home. This is never resolved, and neither is poor Daves fate as Holland awkwardly hurtles towards an unsatisfying conclusion. Holland GalleryTheres a major issue with the way Holland handles a huge disclosure two-thirds of the way through: Without giving it away, its something that would be an inciting incident or the climactic scene of a better movie. As it is, this one already has plenty going on, and doesnt seem to know what to do with this information once its revealed. So it takes an easy (and lazy) out, inserting surrealist dream sequences at random points so it can question the reality of everything weve seen when none of it adds up at the end.How does director Mimi Cave busy herself while her story unravels? Winking kitsch, mostly. Holland pointedly takes place in the year 2000, and Pogs (a little late, but okay), the Windows 95 screensaver, and Blockbuster all get their little moments of screen time. As someone who was in high school in the Midwest in 2000, begrudging respect must be given to the set decoration: The Vandergroot home is a Laura Ashley nightmare, full of quilts, wicker, colonial-style furniture, and a mirrored cabinet stuffed with Precious Moments figurines.Amusing close-ups and tongue-in-cheek humor can only take a film so far.Thats all amusing for a few seconds at a go, as are Kidmans comedic facial expressions and wholesome non-swears. But amusing close-ups and tongue-in-cheek humor can only take a film so far, even with a capable and experienced performer like Kidman at the helm. Its not a great leap to accept Nicole Kidman as a neglected, sexually frustrated housewife she does play them a lot, for whatever reason. But theres more to creating a world than shelves full of period-accurate knickknacks.