Columnist and author Femke is flooded with anonymous nasty messages and death threats on social media. One day she has enough and decides to take revenge.
“Whatever happened to civility?” A common discourse now over the uhh state of well, discourse. The oft-bemoaned state of civil interaction has been poked and prodded by talking heads for way too long and now even the thriller/horror teams are getting in on the action. “The Columnist,” directed by Ivo van Aart, dives directly into the dangerous and often addicting habits social media can have both in mob mentality and in an individual’s life. The film leans into its premise wholeheartedly in such a thorough endorsement of one simple idea: “people who beg for civility are just as vile as those who beg for ‘open dialogue.’” The film puts in work to show that the civil party is perhaps more dangerous as the vitriolic ghosts of the internet have no harmful intentions but to dabble in what they consider fun. By following the dangerous descent into madness protagonist Femke Boot undergoes, “The Columnist” brings down ‘civil discourse’ advocates by blaming social media, and fails to provide an ending.
Katja Herbers plays Femke Boot, a mild-mannered newspaper columnist writing her next book. What starts with backlash for her column about a blackface-wearing neighbor snowballs after an interview alongside mystery horror writer Steven Death. The internet vitriol proves too powerful for Femke as she realizes her next-door-neighbor has added to the pile. With no other outlet to pour onto, Femke starts to meet her detractors in person, with murderous intents. Meanwhile, a romance with Steven Death ignites and the two develop a happy life. Femke’s murderous habit may just get in the way of her new life in time for the release of her book release culminating in one final frenzy.
What this movie does incredibly well is balance its duality in a deft approach. As Femke develops a stronger and stronger bloodlust her antagonist, Steven reveals a soft side. The goth personality of Steven gives way to a polite partner who cooks dinner and takes Femke’s daughter to school just as Femke herself dives deeper and deeper into the insane world ahead of her. This attention to detail hits home on every level: Femke can’t write, Steven has no problem. Femke fails to stand up to her neighbor at first, Steven butts heads with the show’s host. They both descend and ascend in alternating contrast illustrating Femke’s murderous instincts intensively.
The three-act structure of the film lines up perfectly with its runtime. The first act sets up Femke’s descent. The second act shows her reveling in her violence, and the third act plays out the final confrontation. It’s clever storytelling backed by even keel cinematography incorporating the modernist geometry of suburban European homes. The effects always work and the blood splatters delight the audience up until the final ending. The whole movie lives and dies by Katja Herber’s impressive performance as Femke. Katja’s ability to go from passive to utterly manic, even shrieking delivers the true tension, and even as she winds tighter and tighter throughout the film we love watching her play both sides of a manic columnist perfectly.
Unfortunately, the film feels too smart for its own good. What winds up for a finale full of confrontations, eschews the ever-important emotional catharsis for simply ‘a cool shot.’ While the ending provides lots to enjoy and a smart conclusion to one storyline, it leaves a much larger question behind as her Dexter-like identity is discovered by someone close to her. We never get that resolution, nor do we see her really confront her actions. In a semi-predictable way, she comes head to head with her lead abuser only to find out they are more innocent than she imagined. Of course, she’s going to dive deep into the carnage and never look back. We never expected otherwise. What we could’ve then gained, that filmmaker Ivo van Aart withholds, was the unraveling of such a mythic figure. Van Aart seems to point his finger at mild-mannered individuals suggesting even the nicest of us are capable of violence when pushed far enough. The toothless “good people on all sides” decaying of Femke’s victims (or their black-and-white moral cruelty) prevents the character from grappling with complexity until it’s too late. I enjoyed the film, but much like a “Black Mirror” episode, it misses its point and settles for the ‘cool ending.’
“The Columnist” recently had its North American Premiere at the 2020 Fantasia Festival
