Katie Tippel

Despite his shortcomings as a director, Paul Verhoeven typically circumnavigates his weaknesses by telling stories that are sensational even if they occasionally veer into the histrionic performance-wise. Well, Katie Tippel (1975) manages the unenviable task of being the first Verhoeven film that is thoroughly mediocre on every fundamental level, so that even though there may be a beautiful moment or sequence, it never truly adds to any tension or development in the film since the film ultimately becomes a cinema of static characters.

While lead actress Monique van de Ven is probably one of the most beautiful women ever captured with a camera, the film surprisingly lacks tension, character development, and actual interest. Most of the film is governed around the politics of late 19th century Holland, with lower class unrest and the agony of immigrants trying to build their pot o' gold, forcing their children, including the titular Katie (van de Ven) into prostitution, but the film largely doesn't work because Tippel, herself a real person, is too much of a nonentity with regard to her value of political upheaval. That is, she is portrayed in a fashion that upholds her own vain and conceited ideas, but lacks any true compassion toward others. Thus, once she finally transcends her lowly status, she disregards any of those in her former class; yet she herself is disregarded by the man she loves as he too works to climb the social pecking order. These parallels, while existent, never become anything more.

Yet while even this aspect of being a nonentity could make for fascinating social critique, the film never tackles this facet onscreen. In the commentary, Verhoeven mentions how the production planned to show Katie’s explicit lack of growth or consideration from where she came from, but decided against it, much to his dismay now. Such a change would have elevated the material and built a stronger narrative, complete with subtlety and a critique of the complicity of the lower class that ascends their former status. This is, unfortunately, a rather pedestrian film.

Katie Tippel: 5/10