Solid and gripping, Paul Verhoeven has grown his brains back

Rating: 8/10 (12 June 2010)

Paul Verhoeven struck gold with Robocop, which I found clever, but other wise I think he is pretty much a one track mind (well maybe two track). His motion pictures are either driven by sex or gratuitous violence.
It would be a stretch to call this a miracle, but Verhoeven's latest film Black Book has brought out the absolute best in him. Though it could use a bit of trimming, this motion picture is a constantly gripping and thrilling story, morally ironic, and though occasionally contrived, it is definitely not the product of the hack behind Showgirls and Basic Instinct
Black Book is based on a true story of a Jewish girl in Holland, in 1944. After her family was gunned down by Nazis, she joined the resistance and infiltrated the gestapo as a singer, and she quickly became mistress to the head Commander, who himself was actually had secret arrangements with the resistance (which of course it treason) Ergo, they both had something to hide which could get them killed.
The pace is stable and progressive up till the last half hour, where it drags on a bit long in an attempt to tie up some loose ends. It is here where Black Book is at its most controversial and ironic, yet also at its most intense. Verhoeven is takes this project very seriously, probably more so than anything he has ever done. In fact, there is nothing really to suggest that this is a Verhoeven picture. When it wants to, the film can get fairly nasty but never too hammy and the sexual content and violence are not actually that excessive or as overdone as I was expecting.
I'll raise my glass to Paul Verhoeven for this one. It's a pretty solid WWII film, and certainly his finest work yet.