Silent Night (2004)

Directed by: Ineke Houtman | 81 minutes | thriller | Actors: Victoria Koblenko, Liesbeth Kamerling, Caro Lenssen, Josefien Hendriks, Christel Oomen, Jeroen Spitzenberger, Victor Löw, Lore Dijkman, Oren Schrijver, Peter Blok, Marcel Musters, Jaap Spijkers, Walter Bart, Rick Nicolet, Brian Smidt

If there is one Dutch film that has been wrongly underexposed, it is ‘Stille Nacht’. Admittedly, there is quite a bit wrong with this telefilm, but despite a few criticisms, Ineke Houtman’s film has become a strong and sensitive production. And with a unique face.

The story of this movie is based on true events. ‘Silent Night’ has drawn a lot of inspiration from the fear and infamy that the Utrecht serial rapist has left behind. To this day, the assailant has still not been arrested. The film starts with the introduction of the two best friends Laura (Lenssen) and Marieke (Koblenko). The girls decide to join a special action committee set up by some fellow students. The group decides to protect each other from the rapist. They do this by making clear agreements, such as that they will not cycle home alone anyway. Eventually things go wrong, paranoia and fear take their toll on the once tight-knit group.

‘Silent Night’ is a story without many frills. Director Houtman does not rely on special effects and tricks, but focuses purely on the behavior of the girls. A noble approach, but also risky. Obviously you have to be able to count on a bunch of good actors who are willing to go very deep for their roles. In addition, it also takes a lot of time to work out all the characters satisfactorily. And of course you also have to portray your story in such a way that the spoiled movie viewer does not immediately drop out, because, so to speak, nothing happens.

Houtman took up that challenge and, as said, it went well for her. ‘Silent Night’ has become an exciting and heartfelt film. This is mainly due to the convincing acting and the direct observations of the director. This production is about real people in a sympathetic, eerily realistic setting. In no other (Dutch) film has student culture been portrayed as realistically as in ‘Stille Nacht’. Houtman manages to avoid all the clichés about students and paints a truthful portrait of the young adults.

The actors, or rather actresses, are in good shape. Koblenko in particular knows how to shrug off her soap image. The same goes for Chamberlain. The women show that they can really act and carry a movie with ease. Lenssen plays the leading role and she does that quite nicely, but she still gets a bit snowed in by Koblenko’s sparkling, extroverted playing. Lensens’ performance doesn’t really stick and that’s a shame. The lesser-known actresses Hendriks and Oomen act in a very natural way and it is hoped that they will appear more often in a film, because they have talent. The cast knows how to interpret a close-knit group of friends in a convincing way.

In addition to the attractive acting of the cast, the atmosphere of ‘Silent Night’ is also very successful. With few resources, the film manages to evoke an oppressive and at times rather uncomfortable atmosphere. Houtman therefore deserves a lot of praise for the way in which she manages to evoke tension. There are two rape scenes in the film that are horrifying, without you getting to see much. By working a lot with close-ups in which the faces of the terrified victims can be seen, the film evokes many emotions without falling into explicit violence or sex. This way the filmmaker knows how to achieve the maximum effect with minimal resources

Unfortunately, ‘Silent Night’ also has a number of beauty flaws. The film’s biggest flaw lies in the script. Houtman uses a few plot lines that are worked out far too cliché and, moreover, do not fit into the atmosphere of the film. For example, there is a passage in which Lenssen contacts a psychologist. Later in the film, the reason for her visit turns out to be a rather lame excuse to increase the dramatic impact of the film.

The paranoia that threatens to tear the group of friends apart is also elaborated too scantily and predictably. The girls suddenly suspect every man in their environment of rape. The way in which Houtman has developed this ‘who dunnit’ element is a bit too reminiscent of the countless American detective series and films you see every day.

Despite the sometimes somewhat mediocre effect of the film, ‘Silent Night’ remains a beautiful film. The production does not fall into false sentiments and the beautiful acting makes for an impressive film. It is to the credit of the film that no grandiose media hype has been created around it, which enhances the intimate feeling of this film.