Black Book
Rated: R 
The director behind some of cinema’s greatest (Robocop) and worst (Showgirls) films, Paul Verhoeven is no hack and despite what you may think of his final product, it is unarguably a unique vision and one not easily forgotten (with maybe the exception of Hollow Man). There will also be little argument concerning Verhoeven’s latest film, Black Book, and how it is one of those most thrilling and rich films set during the close of World War II. This film has everything but the English language so if you can get past having to read subtitles (and if you can’t, go back to watching a marathon of The Simple Life) you’re going to be in for one hell of an adventure. While the film’s flashback format never lets you doubt the fate of our heroine Rachel (Carice van Houten), the movie is packed with twists and turns about who will live, who will die, who can be trusted, and who is secretly working with the Nazis. What’s remarkable about Black Book is that it feels very classic in its plotting, structure and style, and then Verhoeven will throw a complete curveball at you, like having Rachel dye her pubic hair blonde so that when she goes undercover to sleep with the Nazi agent, he’ll think she’s pure Aryan and not a Jew seeking vengeance for the murder of her family. It's a curveball in the sense that I'm pretty sure it's not in any cut of a film that's in this vein. I don't recall Gregory Peck dying his pubes in The Guns of the Navarone, but maybe that's in the director's cut. If there’s one problem in this otherwise fast-paced suspense film, it’s that the film is one twist too heavy. The film is two and a half hours and by the time the film reaches what should be the biggest betrayal of them all, you’re pretty worn out and the twist just feels unnecessary. It’s a little sad when a film this good can’t find a solid ending, but the last thirty minutes are passable and shouldn’t dissuade you from what’s an otherwise magnificent film. Words by |