Black Book

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Dad

Chocolate saves the day!

This film is so goddamn entertaining. I love this so much, it is probably my favourite war-time film. This is a thrilling spy film filled with suspense and double crosses and some saucy sex by the master of classy exploitation Paul Verhoeven. Here he returns to film in his native land after a long absence in Hollywood and the change serves him well. Although the tinges of exploitation still linger blissfully.

The script is brilliantly structured, it's just one dilemma after the other and each one leads to more severe trouble. And you never know who to trust. It's a hairy ride but one that is very satisfying. And it is never bogged down lingering on the atrocities of the war like so many oscar baited films. Instead it's just the backdrop that surrounds the story and these characters. It plays out a lot like a noir spy-adventure film. There's something very old-fasioned feeling about the film making and I love it.

Carice van Houten is at the centre of this film and she is stunning to watch. It's no surprise Hollywood snapped her up right after the film came out. It's a fantastic role and she performs wonderfully. The rest of the cast a great, I only recognise a few of them from other films but that makes such a nice change, none of them have any baggage.

The costumes and locations are filled with period detail, nicely shot. The music is just this side of melodramatic and fits in nicely with the noir feeling of the whole piece. If you missed out on this film a few years back and love a good spy action thriller be sure to check this one out.