The Last Days of Emma Blank (2009)

Directed by: Alex van Warmerdam | 89 minutes | comedy | Actors: Marlies Heuer, Gene Bervoets, Annet Malherbe, Alex van Warmerdam, Eva van de Wijdeven, Gijs Naber

‘The Last Days of Emma Blank’ is about a woman who waits for death in her villa in the dunes. She makes life quite miserable for the wait staff around her, and sometimes almost hell. The film is another typical Van Warmerdam film, largely absurdist and completely unpredictable in its developments, but also with a good portion of cynical realism. That mix makes it wonderfully surprising. A film brimming with black humor tells a story of people who are willing to do a lot—if not everything—for money. During Emma Blank’s illness, she is cared for by her ‘staff’, who are also awaiting her death. Emma is demanding and wants to be lovingly cared for by Haneveld (head of the household), Bella (cook), Gonnie (maid) and Meier (servant). Not only the care, but also serving the demanding Emma, ​​is difficult for the staff. Emma is tyrannical and her wishes become more and more absurd. How long will the ‘staff’ continue to meet its demands? As the story progresses, it becomes clear that this is not a staff in the classic sense of the word. Emma Blank is cared for by her own relatives who are willing to be humiliated by Emma. They expect to inherit a large fortune when Emma dies. However, the question is whether Emma will die in the short term.

At one point, the staff revolts and eventually turns against her completely. So everyone plays a game with unwritten rules with each other and, as is often the case, this game also gets completely out of hand. Powers are released, the genie gets out of the bottle and the game becomes realistic. The story therefore has two main lines, Emma is the type of a terrible person who exercises power through her money and completely subjects others to her whims. Emma indirectly constantly shows that the others are actually incredibly great opportunists who are willing to be constantly humiliated out of sheer greed. We will not give anything further away about the developments in the storyline here, let yourself be surprised by this black comedy.

The dialogues in particular are – as always with Van Warmerdam films – extremely pointed. Game and locations are hit, camera and editing support the story to a great extent. The various roles are excellently cast, Annet Malherbe plays the role of cook Bella, the cook, with verve and a lot of humor. Not only her lyrics are strong, but her body language and facial expressions are also convincing. Van Warmerdam also plays in this film himself and, like the gruff and surly Theo, is a ‘dog type of person’. Marlies Heuer gives a strong interpretation to the bitch Emma Blank. Her drama and mime training translates into an excellent interpretation.

As an acclaimed Flemish actor, Gène Bervoets portrays Haneveld’s serving role with great flair and humour. As Gonnie the maid, Eva van de Wijdeven perfectly complements Bella and remains completely upright in this strong cast in an excellent interpretation. Gijs Naber’s roles as Meier and Marwan Kenzari are less supportive than the others, but are also convincingly performed. All in all, the overall casting was hit. The whole setting takes place in the beautiful country house in the dunes with a single trip outside in the dunes. Van Warmerdam himself made the music that enhances the atmosphere and accentuates the many entanglements in this ‘story’. Beautiful camera work and beautifully constructed scenes in one complete the picture.

‘The Last Days of Emma Blank’ is a film that can be enjoyed again to the full. Van Warmerdam has added another black pearl to his series of seven – each and every one – characteristic feature films. Razor-sharp dialogues, strong acting, characteristic black humor. A ‘must see’.