100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 50: De Verbouwing

Director: Will Koopman

Genre: Thriller/ Drama

Runtime: 104 minutes

Year: 2012

Starring: Tjitske Reidinga, Peter Blok, Mark Rietman, Alex Hendrickx, Nanett Drazic, Terence Schreurs, Sieger Sloot, Gene Bervoets

Description: Tessa (Tjitske Reidinga) opens her luxurious clinic with a big party. She is smart, beautiful, savvy, and happily married with an intelligent adolescent son. But appearances are deceptive. In reality, her marriage is falling apart, her house renovation is a disaster and the finances of her clinic are a mess. Desperate, she accepts the helping hand of a friend from the past who has turned up suddenly, but in doing so, opens herself up to an ordeal of terror and blackmail.

Review: Saskia Noort is one of the most popular Dutch writers and this is already her third book to movie adaptation. Her debut, “Terug naar de Kust”, was loved by the audience and her second film “De Eetclub” got a lot less good reviews. Will Koopman, director of the first, also directs “De Verbouwing”.

Tjitske Reidinga plays Tessa van Asselt, a plastic surgeon who runs her own private clinic. Her success doesn’t affect her marriage very well. Husband Rogier, once a successful psychiatrist, has a burn out and can’t handle the fact that his wife is more successful. Tessa’s financial state isn’t as great as you might think, because she has a debt. With that she also has a struggling relationship with her teenage son Thom and her house is in the middle of a renovation. A coincidental meeting with ex Johan might change everything. He is a businessman and wants to invest in Tessa’s clinic. It sounds too good to be true, and it is. Because Johan has a hidden agenda.

Tjitske Reidinga plays her role very well. She could be you next door neighbor, but also has a certain class. Tessa is a woman who wants to be in charge, but has to let that go once she starts working with the wrong people. Peter Blok, as Johan, also does a solid job. He is very good as the charmer with a dark side.

For a thriller “De Verbouwing” doesn’t have a lot of surprise elements. Only the last 30 to 40 minutes could be called a thriller. And the movie becomes more and more unbelievable once we go towards the end. The actors are what keep our attention. The script could be more effective.

Just a standard drama movie with some thriller elements. It has some twists, but it never gets really exciting. Fun for a girl’s night, that’s it.

Rating: 2/ 5