Nicole Kidman and Gael Garcia Bernal star in Holland, a slow-burn thriller set in the early 2000s, that touches upon themes of love, infidelity and murder. Also starring Succession star Matthew Macfadyen, the film is set in small-town Holland in Michigan and is directed by Mimi Cave. In an interaction with select global media, including t2, Kidman (who has also produced the film), Bernal and Cave spoke about Holland, which is now streaming on Prime Video.

Nicole, you have this idyllic life among the tulips and windmills of Holland, Michigan. But beneath it all, your character, Nancy Vandergroot, is convinced secrets lurk, and she goes on the hunt. Tell us about her...

Nicole Kidman: She is someone that has the idea of what it means to be in a sort of idyllic white picket fence-type life. But there is a restlessness and a desire underneath, and that is where we find her at the beginning.

I want to point out that when you say windmills and tulips, you don’t necessarily think of Holland, Michigan! (Laughs) Which was part of the appeal of setting this, because as Mimi (Cave, director), will explain, it is set against a backdrop that is idyllic and fantastical at the same time. Which creates a great place to start a thriller. Mimi Cave: We talked a lot about this... why Holland, Michigan? It is similar to a lot of other suburbs in the United States, but it does have something special to it. They have all of these wonderful traditions like Tulip Time Parade and the Windmill. They kind of have a slice of the past that they have upheld. It is just a great cinematic backdrop that helps tell the story visually.

Gael, your character, Dave, gets drawn into this adventure with Nancy. What does he see in her that makes him want to follow her?

Gael Garcia Bernal: There is something mysterious and mesmerising, and at the same time, sort of immediate trust and simplicity. You see Dave at the beginning (being) a bit lonely. You know, the worst connotation of the word... like not being able to connect with anybody. And Nancy seems to be the only person that looks at him, and then looks into him in a way. So there is that immediate connection. And then one thing follows the next...

Mimi, this is a film that can’t be pigeonholed. It is a combination of genres. How do you describe it?

Mimi Cave: A lot of stories are being told in a lot of different ways, whether it is on television or in theatre or streaming. The beauty of what we are able to do now is we get to cross genres and we get to hit on a lot of different emotional centre points for people. Holland is a really fun ride because hopefully you are laughing and then you are scared and then you are on the edge of your seat. I do hope people will just go with it and go back and forth into these different genres and have a fun experience.

Nicole, do you have a different approach as an actor when you are also a producer, as you are in this case?

Nicole: I try to delegate to the people around me so that I am very much the actor in this situation. It is important that the director is the leader. And I am there as her (Mimi’s) actor and she is shaping me and forming me in that regard. And if there is a crisis, absolutely. We had some situations where there was some crises! (Laughs) As there always is on every production. You need to pull your resources and then I have to step in at different times.

It is so difficult to get films made now. And so, to be able to just say to Mimi that we can finance and get your film made, that is a really big support, and that is what I love to be able to do. Then I step in as the actor and go: ‘Okay, shape me, form me, give me ideas. Let’s go. Let’s play.’

What was it like working with such an incredible cast and with Mimi?

Mimi: What is really exciting about this cast is we know all of their faces and we are so familiar with their work, but we haven’t seen them together. I think that they each felt that way too... that they had all admired each other from afar and got to spend some time together playing, as Nicole says, in this world. It was a gift to be able to work with all of these incredibly talented people. I am stepping in and steering the ship, but I am also getting to learn from amazing talents. Each of them had their own unique connections. It was fun for me to see that grow.

Gael: It was a pleasure and a privilege to be with everybody that was involved in the film, but especially with Nicole and Matthew (Macfadyen). I was observing and being part of this game with people that are really good at bringing in their artistic journey in everything they do. Every instant, I was thinking: ‘Oh my God, this is wonderful. This is such a great chance.

’Nicole: I remember Gael saying ‘yes’ (to the part), and I was like: ‘Oh, thank God!’ I was really excited to have this really unusual romance where it is sort of unfolding and unfurling as it goes along. He can make me laugh... he is also incredibly open as an actor and very available. And obviously so talented and his wealth of emotion and also his intellectual understanding of things is really, really deep. He really helped shape the whole piece.

Also Matthew, who I had seen so much in Succession, to then be able to see him at work and realise that he brings this skill set. He has this comic timing and this dark sense of mischief to his performance.

And I love the camaraderie. There was a lot of rock climbing going on off set... a lot of pickleball.

What are you most excited for audiences to take away from the film?

Nicole: I hope people tune in, press play and go: ‘I am going to sit down on the couch, watch this, and be taken on a ride that I didn’t expect. And have some fun.’ That is needed right now.

Mimi: And also, hopefully, this feels a little bit like a movie from the past. I really tried to create a sense of nostalgia. I am hoping people can dip into that.

Gael, what aspect of Holland captivated you the most to star in it? Was it the twisted nature of the story or the indie tone of the project?

Gael: First of all, it was the invitation for the whole spectrum of what this film was going to be about, and with Nicole. But afterwards, talking to Mimi... because at the end of the day, directors are the interlocutors of what the film is going to be about. I didn’t see it perhaps through the industrial connotations of whether this was independent (cinema) or not. I saw it more like this group of people who were excited to tell this and invited me to be part of this.

Nicole, you have built a career on daring roles and always embraced risk as an actor. Did your decision to join Holland come from that same desire to challenge yourself?

Nicole: It did. I call myself a character actress. I don’t consider myself lead act, movie star kind of thing. I love creating characters, and that was what Mimi and I talked about... how to create her as a character. The accent was a huge part of it as well. There is also an innocence that I found really appealing. And then a sense of wonder, which I hadn’t really had the chance to do.

I love exploring. Part of the journey of being artistic is going: ‘What is over here? What is there?’ I am in a position where I get to try things. I also get to support other people who want to be on that path of exploring things artistically. It is a magnificent gift of a journey that we are all on. I never forget how glorious that is because there are so many people that don’t get to do that in their lives. We do... I never take it for granted.