"The 4th man" is a film from director Paul Verhoeven and cinematographer Jan de Bont. Both belong to the small group of Dutch moviemakers who made it in the USA. "The 4th man" (1983) was the last Dutch film of Paul Verhoeven after earlier successes with "Turkish delight" (1973) and "Spetters" (1980). After "The 4th man" Verhoeven went to the USA and made films such as "Robocop" (1987) and "Basic instinct" (1992). After 2000 Verhoeven came back to Europe and made the Dutch production "Blackbook" (2006) and the French/German production "Elle" (2016). Jan de Bont was the cinematographer of Verhoeven both in Holland and in the USA, but he also collaborated with other directors such as John McTiernan ("Die hard" (1988) and "The hunt for the red October" (1990)).
"The 4th man" is based on a book by the Dutch novelist Gerard Reve. Apart from the story of this book also other elements from the oeuvre of Reve (such as homo eroticism and the magic of the Roman Catholic faith) are incorporated in the script.
The story is about a woman who, at a young age, has already lost three husbands. Is this a coincidence or is she a femme fatale? The main character (the writer Reve himself played by Jeroen Krabbé) tries to answer this question. The suspense of the movie is harmed by a relatively weak first quarter of an hour. In this quarter of an hour the alcohol addicted writer has multiple Bunuel like hallucinations. This reduces his credibility in the rest of the movie.
The best part of the movie was for me the second quarter of an hour, in which the writer gives a lecture before the literary society of Vlissingen (a medium sized city in the Netherlands). This part of the movie reflects the contempt of the writer (Reve) for conservative middle class citizens feeling themselves very broad minded because the are visiting a cultural evening once a month. This contempt is the central theme in "The evenings" (1947), one of the most well known novels of Reve.
"The 4th man" is based on a book by the Dutch novelist Gerard Reve. Apart from the story of this book also other elements from the oeuvre of Reve (such as homo eroticism and the magic of the Roman Catholic faith) are incorporated in the script.
The story is about a woman who, at a young age, has already lost three husbands. Is this a coincidence or is she a femme fatale? The main character (the writer Reve himself played by Jeroen Krabbé) tries to answer this question. The suspense of the movie is harmed by a relatively weak first quarter of an hour. In this quarter of an hour the alcohol addicted writer has multiple Bunuel like hallucinations. This reduces his credibility in the rest of the movie.
The best part of the movie was for me the second quarter of an hour, in which the writer gives a lecture before the literary society of Vlissingen (a medium sized city in the Netherlands). This part of the movie reflects the contempt of the writer (Reve) for conservative middle class citizens feeling themselves very broad minded because the are visiting a cultural evening once a month. This contempt is the central theme in "The evenings" (1947), one of the most well known novels of Reve.