Femke Boot (Katja Herbers) is a high-profile newspaper columnist and author. She’s also the victim of a lot of social media hate. Spending her days and nights obsessively checking her Twitter feed, reading constant vile and truly awful messages, it’s no wonder that she’s suffering from writer’s block. According to her editor, there’s no such thing as the phenomena and tasks her to turn around the first portion of her next book in super quick time. Struggling to cope, Femke finds an unexpected outlet for her frustrations after accidentally killing her hateful neighbour. Suddenly full of words and ideas, she may just have found the cure to her writer’s block, and with a whole world wide web of trolls, she has an unlimited supply of victims.
The Columnist explores the toxicity of social media and demonstrates first-hand the pain and hurt that hateful comments inflicts on those that they are directed at. We really feel Femke’s anguish over the comments that people are sending her. She’s just an ordinary person, one whom seems to have a fairly positive outlook on life, she simply wants everyone to get along. Her biggest irk is that other people are apparently unable to accept that someone else might have a different opinion to them, and rather than get on with their own life they feel the need to tear that other person down. It’s a frustration with social media that most of us can relate to, and yet just like Femke, we keep going back to the platforms for more. There’s also a nice story strand that deals with the police and their enforcement of cyber crimes. Initially, when Femke does the right thing and goes to report the death threats and haters, she is belittled; the officer remarks that, ” it’s just the internet, it’s not real”. This is a view that many people share and it makes it infuriatingly hard to get any sort of justice. It’s therefore easy to see why Femke makes the jump to serial killer.
Director Ivo van Aart delights in imbuing The Columnist with a wicked and dark comic streak. The interactions between Femke and her tormentors aren’t the menacing I Spit on Your Grave style encounters. But rather these exchanges are reminiscent of those in Prevenge and has an almost comedy of errors feel to them. The characters themselves are as colourful as the ones in Prevenge, but Femke’s methods of dispatching them includes some rather unexpected items. Pushing a humorous slant on the story enables van Aart to open up a more palatable discussion around the pitfalls and horrors of cyber-bullying. A story as timely and important as this could have been played completely straight, and whilst it would still make for a compelling story, it would have likely come across to some as being a little too preachy. By dressing it up with all the trimmings of a dark comedy, it manages to generate the same end result without bringing the audience down too much.
At the heart of The Columnist is a beguiling performance from Katja Herbers. There are a few different versions of Femke that we meet during the film – victim, mother, writer, lover, and rage-fuelled revenge seeker. Herber handles each facet of the character in a mature, measured, and calculated way, instinctively knowing when to push and when to rein in her performance. It’s an intricate balance, especially when you factor in the elements of comedy, but Herbers manages to juggle everything wonderfully, and her talent shines through every frame. Her portrayal is alarmingly believable and you’ll find yourself suddenly realising that you’re happily cheering her on as she tracks down her next target. It’s an odd feeling, but it’s one that parallels that of Femke’s position as she makes the shift from tormented to tormentor. She comes to the realisation herself, that what she is doing isn’t right, but it’s not enough to convince her to step away once and for all.
Femke is the perfect mixture of hero and villain, she’ll fall into one category or the other depending on who you find yourself siding with. She’s such an unassuming figure that none of her victims see her attacks coming, and even when faced with her as an aggressor, most choose to not take her seriously. This is of course a terrible mistake and they are suitably punished for it. The film features a recurring shot of a spider in it’s web; said spider perfectly encapsulates Femke herself as she lures her prey in and then punches above her weight. In Femke we might finally have a film villain unhinged enough to scare Internet trolls.
A film that perfectly explores the toxic nature of the cyber-world around us, The Columnist is a truly modern take on a very relevant topic. Held together by a stellar performance from Katja Kerbers, and some clever tonal shifts from its director, this is one film that’s sure to get you talking.
The Columnist was reviews at Arrow Video FrightFest 2020.
The Columnist is available now on Digital HD.
The Columnist
Summary
A darkly delicious film that entertains throughout thanks to the perfect combination of sure-handed direction, compelling story, and commanding performances.
