Back to the Coast (2009)

Directed by: Will Koopman | 110 minutes | thriller | Actors: Daan Schuurmans, Linda de Mol, Huub Stapel, Pierre Bokma, Koen De Bouw, Stefan de Walle, Ariane Schluter, Jaap Spijkers, Roos Netjes, Kaspar Schellingerhout, Hein van der Heijden, Chris Dekkers, Sabrina van Halderen, Marike van Weelden , Jochem Stavenuiter, Esther Scheldwacht, Lianne Hultink. Scott Bovelander

Writer Saskia Noort has been guaranteeing high sales figures for years with her literary thrillers – an otherwise slightly controversial title – and it was only a matter of time before one of her exciting stories would find its way to the silver screen. This has finally happened with the film ‘Back to the Coast’, a professional production with skilled people behind the camera and a top cast before it. Whether the target audience with this film version will be expanded in relation to the fans of the books remains to be seen, but if only the majority of this group only bought a cinema ticket, the success of the film would already be guaranteed. And there’s no reason to believe that these would-be viewers won’t be thrilled with the “Back to the Coast” movie adaptation.

Lovers of the book will not need to be convinced of the value of ‘Back to the coast’. The story has just remained intact and is communicated by a capable cast and crew. Smooth, elegant camera work, moody music, and a cool color palette give the film an appropriately oppressive atmosphere. It is the intention that the viewer, together with the main character (played by Linda de Mol), feels watched and attacked. The uncertainty about the identity of the person behind the threatening letters and the nature and moment of his next action must cause a subcutaneous tension in the viewer, just as it normally happens with the people who such a thing happens. And this works reasonably well.

Maintaining the tension is reasonable, but not optimal. The film seems to be in a somewhat difficult split with regard to the involvement of the spectator. The realism of the film is a strong point. Or rather, the recognizability. The frustration people experience when they are threatened but do not reach out by the authorities because there is no direct evidence or a serious crime has not yet been committed is very real. The indifference of the law enforcement officers, here amusingly personified by a detective played by Pierre Bokma, is truly enraging. “In nine out of ten cases it concerns an ex. Have you recently broken up a relationship?” the detective asks, when De Mol’s character comes in defeated, without even looking at the woman. And sure enough, that turns out to be the case. So something in the relational sphere, which will eventually blow over. And again a satisfied customer leaves the building. Or something.

This indifference and the shortcomings of the justice system remain pressing issues and painfully recognizable to people in a similar situation, but the depiction of this bitter reality is not enough to keep the viewer on the edge of his seat for more than an hour and a half. In a book, of course, a lot can be elaborated on the inner world of thoughts and feelings of characters. In a movie, this doesn’t go well. Film is, however cliché, a visual medium and something has to happen on the screen. And while some minimalist films lend themselves well to introspection, the kind of feeling that takes hold of someone in this situation is quite unambiguous. Moreover, the characters are not developed to such an extent or provided with such an interesting background that it pays for the viewer to search for a long time for the underlying emotions of the characters. No, the tension really has to be made tangible and unfortunately this happens too little in the film version of ‘Back to the coast’.

Despite the sadistic, violence-glorifying nature of a film like Tarantino’s ‘Inglourious Basterds’, in that film the director understood that for psychological threat to be really effective, an act must first have taken place that shows what kind of evil or atrocities the threat is capable of. Hence, one of the first scenes of both the great villain and the intimidating heroes – the Basterds – in that film shows the terrible vigor of these characters. And then spend most of the rest of the movie on effective psychological warfare. In ‘Back to the coast’ the first element is largely missing. For a long time it seems to be a case of “bark but don’t bite”, and in the absence of other interesting storylines, the viewer’s mind is likely to wander into the middle of the film.

The last act of the film makes up for a lot, because then the threat takes on a face and the film goes into high gear. It also helps that the villain of the film is convincingly portrayed, with a realistic slant but also with a “fine” cinematic insanity. At least then the viewer still gets value for money. ‘Back to the Coast’ isn’t a film that will last very long – before that, the predictable story – whose outcome, due to the small number of suspects and too obvious “red herrings”, is easy to guess – isn’t exciting or interesting enough. Yet the cast and crew of the film can hardly be blamed. Everyone’s professional-looking directing, camera work and acting (for cinema-goers it may take a while before they will accept TV star Linda de Mol in the lead role, but she also manages to convince quite quickly) ensure that the viewer is in the middle of the film world and remains interested in the ending of the story. It’s just a shame it couldn’t be more than that. ‘Back to the coast’ has succeeded as a technical finger exercise and a well-rounded whole, but a more catchy content or character development would be welcome next time. Perhaps a film adaptation of Saskia Noorts “De Eetclub”, “Nieuwe Buren”, or “De Verbouwing” could offer a solution?