Isabelle

A B --Film release and presentation from the IDTV Film production, in assocation with NCRV, Samsa Film. Produced by Frans van Gestel, Anton Smit, Arnold Heslenfeld. Co-producer, Jani Thiltges. Directed by Ben Sombogaart. Script, Marieke van der Pol, good novella by Tessa p Loo.With: Halina Reijn, Tineke Caels, Wim Opbrouck, Edwin p Vries, Monique van p Ven.Beauty isn't the main factor that's skin-deep in "Isabelle," the newest film from Nederlander vet helmer Ben Sombogaart. Adaptation from the novella by local scribe Tessa p Loo recounts an ugly Belgian woman's revenge on appearance by depriving a glamorous Nederlander actress she keeps stored in her own basement. Crazy setup isn't redeemed by any mental insight, rather playing as being a horror aspirant including a significant amount of twaddle. Tepidly received in your town by crix and auds alike, the pic will probably be banished to cult auds. Utilizing a reliable team that created huge B.O. hits ("Bride Flight," "Twin Brothers and sisters"), Sombogaart here supplies a movie stitched together by bad options. Film author Marieke van der Pol appear unsure the best way to fuse the story's philosophical undercurrents (which explore beauty and ugliness, art and consumption) having its more Medieval genre elements. Stockholm syndrome of actress Isabelle (Halina Reijn, charming but no conventional beauty) is hardly credible, while her captor (Tineke Caels, under plenty of makeup) doesn't suggest ugliness nearly the same as a Botox treatment treatment experiment gone wrong. Tech package is hit-and-miss, with unnecessarily harsh lighting in glamour shots.Camera (color, widescreen), Piotr Kukla editor, Herman P. Koets music, Jeannot Sanavia production designer, Michel p Graaf costume designer, Peggy Wurth. Examined at Camera 1, Utrecht, Netherlands, Sept. 27, 2011. (In Netherlands Film Festival -- competing.) Running time: 97 MIN. Contact Boyd van Hoeij at news@variety.com