# The Dinner Club

The Dinner Club (Dutch: De eetclub) is a 2010 Dutch thriller film directed by Robert Jan Westdijk from a script he co-wrote with Marjan Lammers based on the novel of the same name by Saskia Noort. The film stars Bracha van Doesburgh, Thom Hoffman, Angela Schijf, Mark van Eeuwen, Halina Reijn, Peter Paul Muller, and Birgit Schuurman. It follows a woman who moved with her family to an affluent neighborhood, where she is invited to join a dining club.
Following the success of The Dark House, several other Noort novels were optioned for adaptations which included the Dinner Club. Filming took place in 2010 around Aerdenhout and Renkum.
The film was released in Dutch theaters in 25 November 2010. It received generally negative reviews from critics, but received a Golden Film for having at least 100.000 visitors at the box office.

## Plot

Karen, a freelance translator, and Michel, an IT professional, are moving with their daughter Sophie to an affluent residential neighboorhood. While doing some shopping Karen encounters Simon, later, when she picks up her child from school she meets her neighbour Hanneke and the two become fast friends. Hanneke invites her to the dinner club she is part of. She meets the rest of the club, which includes Babette, Angela and Patricia. Angela offers her a lift afterwards. Next morning, Hanneke shows off interior designs she has made for Angela and Kees she has stored on her whale-shaped USB-stick. In the night, Karen and Michel go to a Patricia's and Simon's party, where Simon come on to Karen.
After bringing their kids to school, Karen and Hanneke visit Evert who is staying at a mental institution. Subsequently, Hanneke complains about her friends avoiding Evert and then gives Karen her very own USB-stick in the style of her own as a present. Evert is brought home by Simon and is given a welcome home party. Karen is hired by Kees to translate a brochure. At one of their dinner meetings, the women are intruded by their husbands, who are dressed up in stereotypically female clothing. Only for it to get out of hand between Simon and Evert, who ends up injured. While leaving the party Simon kisses Karen.
In the middle of the night, the home of Evert and Babette, is burned down and Evert is killed by apparent suicide. In the aftermath, Hanneke is inconsolable over his death and doesn't buy the suicide part, she walks away and disappears. Babette and her kids move in with Karen and Michel. Michel goes onto a business trip to Italy for undetermined of time. Karen receives a text from Hanneke to meet up next day, but Hanneke never shows up. Instead she encounters Simon again and they have sex for the first time.
Karen receives a text message stating that Hanneke was found. At the hospital she told that Hanneke dropped from a hotel balcony and is now in a coma and she is questions about it by the police. Afterwards, Patricia and Angela tell the rest of the club that they visited Hanneke, their conversation went poorly after they dismissed accusations made by Hanneke revolving around money, they also tell Karen that Hanneke and Evert had an affair despite their partners knowing. Karen visits the hotel room where Hanneke stayed and is found by Detective Dorien who gives her a contact card.
Karen and Simon continue their relationship and a secret cottage. Later, she visits who Hanneke remains in coma and argues with Ivo, who later accuses Karen of tempering with medical equipment after Hanneke had an heart attack. The detective thanks Karen for her cooperation even though she didn't causing distrust among her friends. Michel returns from his business trip, he has made a deal with Simon about investing in his business, with Simon claiming that he agreed to remain close with Karen.
In the car of Simon, Karen finds the USB-stick of Hanneke and replaces it with her own stick. On it she finds information relating that Hanneke knew that Evert didn't commited suicide and wanted to divorce Babette and marry Hanneke instead, and that Evert figured out that Simon laundered money with a building project in Portugal. Michel doesn't believe her and tells her Hanneke died and the police detective finds the evidence insufficient.
Karen divulges all the information she knows with Babette. During the funeral of Hanneke, Karen tries to find information at Hanneke's house but is caught by a maid. Out of guilt, Karen reveals she cheated, but Michel already knew. While biking home Karen is driven into a creek by Ivo by accident, Karen is told that Babette visited Hanneke alongside Patricia and Angela; in facti it was her idea. As a result, Karen investigates Babette's room and finds incrementing evidence and medicine in the urn.
She confronts Angela about the evidence and wants to give to the police but Karen is seized by Simon and is taken to a construction site. She manages to escape his clutches, but not before Babette, who came with her and Simon's baby, incapacitates her and demands Simon to throw her of the building as a prove of his devotion but he refuses. In the confrontation Babette falls of the building\ and Karen saves the baby. In the end, Karen and her family return to the city.

## Cast

* Bracha van Doesburgh as Karen
* Thom Hoffman as Simon
* Angela Schijf as Babette
* Mark van Eeuwen as Michel
* Halina Reijn as Hanneke
* Peter Paul Muller as Ivo
* Birgit Schuurman as Angela
* Bas Keijzer as Evert
* Irma Hartog as Patricia
* Mattijn Hartemink as Kees
* Romana Vrede as Dorien
* Magali Bruins as Sophie
* Mees Harteveld as Mees
* Joep Litjens as Beau
* Gijs Reimert as Baby Luuk
* Guusje Zautsen as Lotte
* Peter Blankenstein as Doctor
* Julia van de Graaff as Cleaner
* Sita Manichand as School teacher

## Production

Following the success of The Dark House, Saskia Noort other novels were being optioned for film adaptation including The Dinner Club. The cast was announced in March 2010 by Benelux Film based on the bestselling book that came out in 2004. Bracha van Doesburgh and Mark van Eeuwen were cast as the main couple, with Halina Reijn, Peter Paul Muller, Angela Schijf and Thom Hoffman filling out the main cast. Filming took place in Aerdenhout and Renkum, at the latter an abandoned villa was set on to fire for a scene.

## Release

The film was released in Dutch theaters on November 25, 2010. The film was suppose to be shown at an European film festival in Uganda, but was banned by the Uganda censorship board. The embassy of the Netherlands withdrew from appearing at the festival.
On April 22 2011, The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Dutch FilmWorks.

## Reception

The film received generally negative reviews from critics, After the premiere, Saskia Noort heavily criticized the film during RTL Boulevard for changing the ending and considered it inferior to the novel.
The film received a Golden Film for 100.000 visitors.