No cloud nine, but a postpartum depression for Carice van Houten in this adaptation of Helen van Royen’s eponymous bestseller. Despite all the misery, there is also room for laughter.
The adaptation of Heleen van Royen's semi-autobiographical bestseller preserves the mix of drama, irony and a dash of sex. The young couple Lea and Harry have everything their heart desires: a nice job, social status, a chic house and an unextinguished desire. A baby would make their happiness complete, Harry feels. Lea hesitates, but is persuaded. The proverbial pink cloud, however, fails to materialise. After a disastrous delivery - worth ten minutes of pure horror cinema - Lea suffers a gestational psychosis, complete with a hidden message and an attempted murder of the newborn sprig. This leads to forced admission to a hospital, where she does not exactly burst with enthusiasm to follow (group) therapy. A character that suffers from rapid mood swings is the ideal sample sheet for Carice van Houten's talent. Seemingly effortlessly, she combines paranoia, brazen humour, drama and comedy. This also applies to Antoinette Beumer, who made her feature film debut with De gelukkige huisvrouw ('The happy housewive').
Credits
Director
Producer
Co-producer
Executive producer
Camera
Production Design
Set geluid
Sound editing
Sound Design
NFF Archive
You are now in the NFF Archive. The archive contains contains information on film, TV and interactive productions that were screened at past festival editions. The NFF does not dispose of this material. For this, please contact the producer, distributor or broadcaster. Sometimes, older films can also be found at the Eye Film Museum or the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision.