The Reverend (2004)

Directed by: Gerrard Verhage | 110 minutes | drama, crime, thriller | Actors: Peter Paul Muller, Frank Lammers, Chantal Janzen, Huub Stapel, Mike Reus, Roeland Fernhout, Keith Davis, Marcel Musters, Christian Kmiotek, Cas Jansen, Tygo Gernandt, Rick Nicolet, Frans de Wit, Kees Boot, Jeroen Spitzenberger

It remains a mystery what Dutch directors see in Peter Paul Muller. The best man is a pretty nice actor, but he really can’t carry a whole movie. That was already clear in ‘The passion fruit’ and now also in ‘The Reverend’.

‘The Reverend’ is about Klaas Donkers, an ambitious man who wants nothing less than total control over the import and export of soft drugs. When he suddenly becomes the boss of the Dutch drug scene at lightning speed, a lot changes in Donkers’s life. Jealousy, paranoia and violence rule his life and friends become enemies. Who can he trust?

The film is inspired by the life of Klaas Bruinsma, but even more so by the legendary gangster classic ‘Scarface’ by Brian DePalma. The stormy rise and fall of drug lord Donkers shows great parallels with the well-known crime film starring Al Pacino.
In an almost identical structure, you see a starting amateur grow into an overconfident and supremely powerful übergangster. Unfortunately, ‘The Reverend’ lacks the atmosphere and appearance that a crime film needs to be able to convince.

‘The Reverend’ continues to follow a rather superficial and well-behaved pattern that leaves little room for character development and tension building. The movie is too sweet because of the static build-up and the flawed action scenes. Due to the slow build-up, the film never really catches fire. A very clinical and unnecessary sex scene between Janzen and Muller cannot change that.

Director Verhage focuses more on a chronological summary of facts, than on an exciting and compelling story and that stings. The actors don’t get enough depth because of the static direction. Sparkling acting is almost impossible to see in ‘The Reverend’. Only the Brabant actor Frank Lammers knows how to rise above himself with his role as kickboxing champion Adri. It just hurts to see Lammers in a supporting role and a much less gifted actor like Muller in the lead role. De Brabander has everything that Muller lacks in ‘The Reverend’: charisma, emotion and persuasiveness.

Muller is out of place in this film. It seems as if he lumbers around with visible effort in this film. Janzen is also not always convincing, although she leaves a positive impression with her enthusiastic playing and appearance. The rest of the cast is far too short in the picture to really stick. There are a lot of famous faces in the film, but they don’t have much to do. Huub Stapel and Tygo Gernandt in particular are given far too little space to show their talent. Too bad, it could have been a lot more. Now ‘The Reverend’ relies too much on the interpretations of Muller, Janzen and Lammers. And if you consider that the most important and crucial role is not fulfilled satisfactorily, you can see that the impact of the film leaves much to be desired.

The viewer never really gets through to Donkers’ head. You don’t get to know what drives him to commit crime and why he is so callous and emotionless. You don’t get sympathy for him, something that you can do with the characters played by Janzen and Lammers. The great example of ‘The Reverend’, ‘Scarface, did not have a sympathetic character in the cold gangster Tony Montana, but thanks to Pacino’s intense, oppressive playing, his very flat character remained interesting enough to watch.

As mentioned, the action also disappoints. There’s too little spectacle in it. What is successful is the soundtrack. The title track that Intwine wrote for the film is never boring. The rock music gives the atmosphere of the film a firm boost. Which unfortunately is too short.

‘The Reverend’ gets stuck too much in ambitions that she cannot fulfill. Dutch filmmakers lack the experience and budget to make an epic like ‘Scarface’. Verhage’s film makes this all too clear once again. To call the film a total failure is going too far, but this product is certainly not a milestone in Dutch film history.