Black Book (2006): C+

Director(s): Paul Verhoeven. Screenplay: Gerard Soeteman and Paul Verhoeven. Cast: Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Thom Hoffman, Halina Reijn, Waldemar Kobus, Derek de Lint, Christian Berkel. Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics. Runtime: 145 min. Rating: R.

An official selection at this year's Film Comment Selects, Paul Verhoeven's Black Book can be classified (as Noel Murray of The Onion says) as one of the most fun movies ever made about how people basically suck. This is hardly an excuse for good film making, however: while the premise of Verhoeven's film is a well crafted and enticing one, it does not repay for the serious narrative deficiencies, especially when such a plot eschews and tries to balance morality with thrills.

The whole plot is based on a memory, which can be a sorry excuse for a beginning narrative: a beautiful Dutch Jew named Rachel (star-in-the-making, Carice van Houten) infiltrates Nazi HQ as part of the Dutch resistance. From there, Rachel, as the blond Ellis, plays a Mata-Hari-ish spy to seduce Gestapo chief Müntze (Sebastian Koch). Here is where the infuriatingly well-thought out conundrum starts: with twists and turns, Ellis finds herself in between both the Nazis and the resistance, only to find more culprits on both sides. Despite being voluptuously directed, the film lacks salient emotion; like only half a film is there. Near the middle of the film, Verhoeven decides to add on pretentious Hollywood-esque vignettes; the battle sequences in the film are likely to be considered similar, yet they still are well shot and portrayed.

Claiming to be a "based on true events" epic, Black Book also lacks the connaissence in the characters, who, although admirably portrayed, are not anything more than archetypes. Because the machinations of the film are somewhat conventional and move quicker than they should -- even though the film is notably long -- Verhoeven's latest lacks sentiment and provocation, something that, for the topic of resistance, can only be ruminated down to a solemnity-lacking, solely fun piece of trivial reiteration.