I'm not sure how it was I came across this movie, and I had no especial expectations as I started watching. Paul Verhoeven's name carries a fair bit of weight, as well as those of cast members Rutger Hauer and Jeroen Krabbé. There are strong possibilities for what the narrative could have been, including working class hopes and dreams, coming of age drama, or interpersonal conflict. Alternatively, given the personalities of the characters and some of the specifics of the course of events, if the screenplay honed in one one in particular there are some ponderous (and depressing) themes that could have been explored more heavily. On top of all this, the original music of progressive rock band Kayak catches one's attention straight away with driving, dynamic themes, and is a welcome aspect of the production.
There's a lot about 'Spetters' that's done well. I think the cast give fine performances, and Verhoeven demonstrates capable direction. Cinematography, sound design, production design, stunts, the fundamental orchestration of every scene - it's well made. The writing, sadly, is another matter, because while there's strong potential here, it doesn't necessarily pan out, and that's just the start. The movie is decidedly unfocused: we're introduced to several major characters who get the spotlight at one time or another, but none of them are given due consideration. Big story beats with significant weight feel forced, unnatural, and out of place because they aren't developed, examined, or resolved in a meaningful way. Among those figures we see the most, Rien, Fientje, Eef, and Hans all have character arcs that could have been teased out into larger, longer, more impactful threads. As it is we get shoddy fractions of those arcs, and they're less than convincing as they present.
It doesn't help that the movie doesn't particularly give us any sympathetic, likable characters to latch onto. Hans comes closest, or possibly Maya, but as they proceed in lockstep with their fellows for some of the nastier business in the film, it's hard not to feel like they deserve anything bad to come to them. In other instances characters oscillate between irritating, loathsome, agreeable, and unlikable, or maybe also coming back around to elicit a measure of sympathy, but from the outset they all mostly come across as altogether obnoxious. I suppose one could argue that this is a reflection of the wide complexity of people, but in light of how poorly character arcs are manifested in the first place - and the juvenile, macho attitudes characters possess generally - those complexities are flattened.
And that brings us to the themes that the characters are wrapped up in. 'Spetters' could have been a solid movie about growing up, finding identity, learning what's important, coping with life's difficulties, and so on - themes that have filled many a feature, yes, but they could have been employed here to great ends if the characters had better treatment in the screenplay. We do get additional themes coarsely poking at news media, and how it can be manipulative or exploitative, and religion, with strains useless, fraudulent, or downright hateful. More than anything else, however, what does the most to make a (bad) impression about the feature is the prominent homophobia. It's one thing for a film to include an element of anti-gay bigotry in scene or character writing (or racism or sexism, as is also true here). It's another for a major character to be predominantly defined by such vile views. Worse still is when the very writing of queer characters is emphatically problematic, reflecting the sort of fallacious straw men that homophobic and transphobic politicians invent to incite violence against the LGBTQ+ community. That's exactly what we get in 'Spetters,' however. And again: the character highlighted in this moments has a definite arc, but that aspect of the plot simply isn't fully fleshed out, and so the ugliness overshadows any fruit it could have borne in the narrative.
On the balance I do think 'Spetters' is better than not. I recognize the skill of all involved, and there are enticing concepts in the writing. Unfortunately, those concepts just aren't handled well, and so the flimsy value is deeply mired in crucial weaknesses and abject problems. I'd like to speak still more highly of this, but that would require the screenplay to be overhauled and the picture remade. In every regard you could do a lot worse than 'Spetters,' but as far as I'm concerned, even if you're a diehard fan of someone involved in the production, it's hard to especially recommend this. At the end of the day it's an okay watch if you come across it, but don't go out of your way, and bear in mind some critical caveats.
There's a lot about 'Spetters' that's done well. I think the cast give fine performances, and Verhoeven demonstrates capable direction. Cinematography, sound design, production design, stunts, the fundamental orchestration of every scene - it's well made. The writing, sadly, is another matter, because while there's strong potential here, it doesn't necessarily pan out, and that's just the start. The movie is decidedly unfocused: we're introduced to several major characters who get the spotlight at one time or another, but none of them are given due consideration. Big story beats with significant weight feel forced, unnatural, and out of place because they aren't developed, examined, or resolved in a meaningful way. Among those figures we see the most, Rien, Fientje, Eef, and Hans all have character arcs that could have been teased out into larger, longer, more impactful threads. As it is we get shoddy fractions of those arcs, and they're less than convincing as they present.
It doesn't help that the movie doesn't particularly give us any sympathetic, likable characters to latch onto. Hans comes closest, or possibly Maya, but as they proceed in lockstep with their fellows for some of the nastier business in the film, it's hard not to feel like they deserve anything bad to come to them. In other instances characters oscillate between irritating, loathsome, agreeable, and unlikable, or maybe also coming back around to elicit a measure of sympathy, but from the outset they all mostly come across as altogether obnoxious. I suppose one could argue that this is a reflection of the wide complexity of people, but in light of how poorly character arcs are manifested in the first place - and the juvenile, macho attitudes characters possess generally - those complexities are flattened.
And that brings us to the themes that the characters are wrapped up in. 'Spetters' could have been a solid movie about growing up, finding identity, learning what's important, coping with life's difficulties, and so on - themes that have filled many a feature, yes, but they could have been employed here to great ends if the characters had better treatment in the screenplay. We do get additional themes coarsely poking at news media, and how it can be manipulative or exploitative, and religion, with strains useless, fraudulent, or downright hateful. More than anything else, however, what does the most to make a (bad) impression about the feature is the prominent homophobia. It's one thing for a film to include an element of anti-gay bigotry in scene or character writing (or racism or sexism, as is also true here). It's another for a major character to be predominantly defined by such vile views. Worse still is when the very writing of queer characters is emphatically problematic, reflecting the sort of fallacious straw men that homophobic and transphobic politicians invent to incite violence against the LGBTQ+ community. That's exactly what we get in 'Spetters,' however. And again: the character highlighted in this moments has a definite arc, but that aspect of the plot simply isn't fully fleshed out, and so the ugliness overshadows any fruit it could have borne in the narrative.
On the balance I do think 'Spetters' is better than not. I recognize the skill of all involved, and there are enticing concepts in the writing. Unfortunately, those concepts just aren't handled well, and so the flimsy value is deeply mired in crucial weaknesses and abject problems. I'd like to speak still more highly of this, but that would require the screenplay to be overhauled and the picture remade. In every regard you could do a lot worse than 'Spetters,' but as far as I'm concerned, even if you're a diehard fan of someone involved in the production, it's hard to especially recommend this. At the end of the day it's an okay watch if you come across it, but don't go out of your way, and bear in mind some critical caveats.