Noise

I stumbled upon the 2023 Dutch mystery thriller titled "Noise" by perusing the Netflix catalogue of movies. And with this movie, from director Steffen Geypens, being a brand new movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I opted to watch it.

The synopsis sounded interesting enough to catch my attention. However, I didn't know what to expect from writers Steffen Geypens, Robin Kerremans and Hasse Steenssens.

However, the storyline was rather slow paced, dull and monotonous. Running at 89 minutes, there was surprisingly little of any worth taking place on the screen. There was nothing scary, nor were there the least bit of thrills or excitement either. And that made for a rather boring movie experience.

Given my limited exposure to the Dutch cinema, then I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list. The acting performances in the movie were fairly okay, though the performers had very little material to work with.

Visually then you're not in for anything grant or exciting. But then again, since there was nothing thrilling or scary in the movie, then there really wasn't much use or necessity for special effects.

"Noise" was a swing and a miss of a movie. And believe me when I say that I am never returning to watch this movie a second time, because it was struggle to sit through it the first time. If you enjoy a good mystery thriller, then there are far, far better movies out there to pick from.

My rating of "Noise" lands on a very generous three out of ten stars.

As "Noise" (2023 release from Belgium; 90 min.) opens, we are introduced to Matthias and Liv, a young couple with a newborn son. They are moving into the house where Matthias gre up with his dad. His dad is now in a seniors center. Matthias is having a hard time coping with the baby waking him up every night. Then one day, Matthias finds out that his dad was the CEO of a nearby chemical plant, which now stands abandoned. Why? At this point we are 10 min. Into the movie.

Couple of comments: this is a full-ledged production from Flanders, Belgium (the Dutch-speaking side of Belgium). I hail from Flanders, Belgium myself, and when I saw this in the newly added titles of Netflix, I just had to watch it. Alas, this is not a great movie. For that, the story line is simply too thin and scattered. This is not a "mystery" or a "thriller" or even a "psychological drama". It's a hodge-podge of lots of genres but in the end can't decide what it really wants to be. The most interesting thing about the movie is the sound construction, piecing together all kinds of irritating noises, none more so than the baby cries, again and again, and again, but also things like the car wash sounds, a fruit blender, etc. We get the point: Matthias is overwhelmed by noises. The cast features Sallie Harmsen as Liv (she also starred in "Blade Runner 2049").

"Noise" started streaming on Netflix just this weekend. Unless you are from Flanders, Belgium and are simply curious as to what a Flemish movie can do, I don't know that I can recommend this film in good conscience to anyone. Of course don't take my word for it, so check it out and draw your own conclusion.

This movie could have been so many things.

It could have been what secrets the town holds for the son who has come back.

It could have been the secrets of the factory fire.

It could have been about the secrets of the father and his previous wife.

It could have been the slow descent of a marriage.

But no, the director/writer teased several ideas, and just tacked on a nonsensical ending that did not resolve any of the questions. This was a complete waste of time. Throw in the fact that the lead actor graduated from the Kneau Reeves/Kristen Stewart acting class, meaning he had the same constipated expression regardless of the scene or emotion he was supposed to have.

I keep wondering about the rationale behind Netflix producing films with such weak screenplays. The little intrigue that the film offers quickly evaporates once the second act comes on, and the hallucinatory visions the protagonist (Ward Kerremans) keeps having, lack purpose. The protagonist's wife (Sallie Harmsen) takes the perspective of the audience, trying to make sense of it all - hers is the only performance that I took fair notice of, in this mess. The mystery (or the lack of) is so terribly sketched that I felt it had nothing to achieve, even though the protagonist keeps making such a big, nonsensical fuss. The makers also add a couple of pointless jumpscares. In the end, it just feels like you wholly wasted 90-odd minutes.

I don't normally give such low scores to movies - I try to focus on the positive instead of the negative. And certainly this movie offered solid acting, good production quality and what seemed to be a good script. I was engrossed by the various mysteries which were the subject of the movie. I *almost* enjoyed this movie, but the ending ruined the enjoyment of the rest of the movie because nothing got resolved at the end. There is the build up of these different mysteries, but they literally went no where. There is a rather non-sensical ending which did not address the outstanding questions or wrap up the mysteries in any way. Ultimately, it felt like the time I spent watching the beginning of the movie was a waste. I would love to watch this movie again, with a proper ending!!! So viewer beware - you will get sucked into the suspense of this movie, but IMO it ultimately goes nowhere.