Escort (2006)

Directed by: Frank Ketelaar | 100 minutes | thriller | Actors: Tom Jansen, Ton Kas, Rifka Lodeizen, Bastiaan Ragas, Kenan Raven, Eva van de Wijdeven, Sabrina van Halderen

The facts are promising: hairdresser/escort Chantal (Rifka Lodeizen) and her boyfriend Robin (Bastiaan Ragas) decide that she will marry the terminally ill Jacobsen (Tom Jansen) in order to collect his million-dollar inheritance, but they encounter many obstacles. Yet Frank Ketelaar, who previously directed television series such as ‘There flying Panthers’ and ‘De Band’, did not succeed in making ‘Escort’ a really exciting film. Rarely are you on the edge of your seat as a viewer; Because of all the holes in the script, your mind regularly wanders and all those slow, explanatory flashbacks make you go nuts. The film does contain some surprises at the end.

Rifka Lodeizen (‘Simon’, ‘Flirt’) stands head and shoulders above the others in this mediocre thriller. She is quite convincing as the passionate but unstable gold digger Chantal. What is the rest of the cast lacking? Subtlety! For example, musical star Ragas swears continuously, he constantly waves his arms and roars whenever he can. Because, oh, oh, how often he is pissed off. And don’t think he’s a dummy guy. No, Ragas is raw. See him act lustful, look how wide-legged he walks, see him chew with open mouth. Almost equally tantalizing is Kenan Raven (‘Phileine Says Sorry’) who plays Jacobsen’s son. This ‘Simon’ has been living in Australia for years and you will know that too: an annoying mix of English and Dutch comes out of the mouth of this overly mysterious looking guy.

The film music is also not very subtle. Drum roll sounds when disaster is approaching and when you are in the middle of a fairly exciting scene. Is Ketelaar afraid to leave something to the imagination of his audience?

Incidentally, ‘Escort’ is sometimes – probably unintentionally – quite funny. Take, for example, the wish of Robin’s best friend. The best man will share in Robin and Chantal’s millions of dollars. What will he get? You would think a brand new Jaguar or a villa on Lake Como, after all, millions are involved here. None of that. He dreams of having a, er, caravan, delivered before the Christmas holidays. Time and again he reminds Robin of his dream and muses on the blessings of a caravan. It’s to drive you crazy. And to chuckle at: the caravan as a kind of pleasure object, how do you get there?