As a huge fan of Paul Verhoeven's contribution to Hollywood in the late 80's and early 90's i found myself compelled to dig deeper to investigate some of his Dutch language offerings. I started with this, The Fourth Man. One of my favourite films of the early 90's was Basic Instinct. That film had a larger than life appeal and the two actors, Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone fizzed together on screen. Watching The Fourth Man was like meeting Basic Instinct's older, slightly more weathered sister. The film doesn't have the gloss of Basic Instinct, but i still found it to be a useful and interesting experience. The similarities with it's more celebrated and younger counterpart are all there to be seen. The writer, the bisexual element, the blonde femme fatale who enjoys taking risks involving driving too fast, the blood, the sex, i think you get the picture. The Fourth Man isn't without it's own surprises though. Some of the symbolism is truly shocking and provocative. One particular scene in a Catholic church will really push buttons, but i guess that's Verhoeven and that's why i love his work. For me, The Fourth Man would never go down as a true classic. Sure it has some stand out moments and some very good ideas, but the execution wasn't there for me. That said, without it we may never have had Basic Instinct so for that, i am thankful.
Review of The 4th Man
