Only decent people (2012)

Directed by: Lodewijk Crijns | 89 minutes | drama, comedy | Actors: Géza Weisz, Imanuelle Grives, Annet Malherbe, Jeroen Krabbé, Maurits Delchot, Sigrid ten Napel, Belinda van der Stoep, Yamill Jones, Will Fraser, Dennis Rudge

The book “Only neat people”, which appeared in 2008, was certainly a success for debuting writer Robert Vuijsje at the time. The writer won the Gouden Uil in 2009 and the Inktaap in 2010 and was shortlisted for the Libris Literature Prize and the Selexyz Debut Prize. The protagonist of this idiosyncratic, but also controversial book is the Jewish David. David comes from a very neat and prosperous family and lives in the chic neighborhood of Oud-Zuid in Amsterdam. He and his childhood friend Naomi lead a seemingly perfect life. Yet this opulence is not enough for David, he lacks the tension in the relationship. In addition, he notices that lately he only has eyes for a ‘different’ kind of women, black women that is.

While David’s search for the perfect black woman in the book ultimately takes him to the American city of Memphis, the film of the same name is set entirely in Amsterdam. And so the readers of the book in this film adaptation will notice that ‘Only decent people’ often does not follow the original too literally. Soon after setting Naomi aside, David (Geza Weisz) meets Rowanda (Imanuelle Grives). Rowanda is a spirited aunt, she lives in the Bijlmer and is the mother of two children. Her character is also portrayed exactly as you would expect based on the book. In his own words, David is ‘in love’ from this moment on. His parents, father Bram (Jeroen Krabbé) and especially mother Judith (Annet Malherbe), don’t like this and have great difficulty accepting David’s choice.

‘Only decent people’ opens well and certainly in the first half hour it develops into a nice film. A good (stereotype) image of David and the other characters is put down. Supported by appropriate music, developments follow at a rapid pace. This high tempo is maintained throughout the rest of the film, making the time almost seem to fly by.

Unfortunately, this does not immediately make ‘Only decent people’ a good film. Because while the first part is manageable, the story derails quite a bit in the sequel. The joke of David trying to integrate with the foreign women is a bit off. Also the archetypal way in which the characters and cultures from the film are portrayed, even if it is deliberately done over the top, starts to irritate after a while. A dinner with David’s parents at Rowanda’s family is fun in the beginning, but at a certain point the fun of these kinds of events is over and director Lodewijk Crijns can’t come up with more innovative jokes.

The second part therefore falls too much into scenes in which David, who strays further and further from the right path, finds himself in increasingly uncomfortable situations. This has resulted in few convincing events in the less chic parts of Amsterdam’s Bijlmer. As well as the role of David’s parents towards the end, these are not believable. Combine this with on the whole mediocre acting and you understand that ‘Only decent people’ is by no means a masterpiece. The fun book offers enough potential for a very entertaining film adaptation. Unfortunately, too little is being done about this. After a nice start, ‘Only decent people’ does not manage to maintain this level. It’s just not ‘just decent people’.