The 4th Man (1984)

good back-story, and good acting

A Masterpiece!

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

In other words: pure Paul Verhoeven. This sophisticated black comedy is not for the easily offended, but it made me laugh out loud on several spots ("if she gets a fourth one, they can play bridge!"). Verhoeven is one of the few directors who can mix horror and comedy so effortlessly (this was the main virtue of his otherwise disappointing latest feature, "Elle"). This is the movie that got him the ticket to Hollywood, and it's very easy to see why; it's probably the most entertaining erotic thriller of the 1980s (along with Brian De Palma's "Body Double"), just like the thematically similar "Basic Instinct" is probably the most entertaining erotic thriller of the 1990s. *** out of 4.

Paul Verhoeven's earlier Dutch thriller follows a superstitious writer (Jeroen Krabbe) who meets an eccentric woman attending one of his public seminars and begins an affair with her; while staying at her home for an extended period, he is plagued with disturbing visions and incidents, and becomes infatuated with one of her other male lovers.Fans of Verhoeven's neo-noir classic "Basic Instinct" should find plenty of interest here, as the films cross paths in terms of some thematics and the cinematic aspect of the lover's triad, though "The Fourth Man" is actually a much better film in some ways. While not as remarkably violent as some of his other work, it is a solid and transfixing thriller that is as perturbing as it is engaging; as off putting as it is erotic. Verhoeven wears influences on his sleeve, clearly drawing on ye good old days of American Hollywood noir with spatterings of Alfred Hitchcock and Ingmar Bergman for good taste. The touches of surrealism are prevalent enough to arrest the audience, but are still left in an inconspicuous enough territory to be debated and thought provoking. Never does the film edge into gaudiness, which is another remarkable feat here— the surrealist colorings are wholly immersed in the reality of the story, blending into an endless portrait of premonitions, fears, and paranoia that is still firmly anchored in a cohesive plot.Remarkable performances here from Jeroen Krabbé and Renée Soutendijk, as well as Thom Hoffman's understated performance as the object of Krabbé's intense sexual affections. Among a multitude of other things, the film is truly a pioneer of queer cinema, brazen in its depiction of male homosexuality and laden with surprisingly baffling religious, supernatural, and feminist themes that are difficult to decipher in spite of their obvious existence within.No less, "The Fourth Man" is one of the most transfixing thrillers of its time, brilliantly crafting the surreal alongside the darker aspects of film noir, all taken to understated extremes. While many people probably think of David Lynch as the first filmmaker to do this, you may be surprised to know that Paul Verhoeven was toying with similar elements back in Netherlands in the 1980s; while Lynch infamously took this to subconscious levels, Verhoeven rather leaves us somewhere in the middle— in a dream, or maybe in a nightmare. 9/10.

Viewing DE VIERDE MAN (aka THE FOURTH MAN) is a slightly unsettling and rather fascinating experience. It's a very tight and intense psychological mystery/thriller from Netherlands's Paul Verhoeven. He directed this film just before he got big with his "free-ticket to Hollywood"-movie FLESH + BLOOD. In a lot of user-comments on this site I noticed the mentioning of Alfred Hitchcock. Indeed, this movie might very well be Hitchcockian, but I also noticed touches of early Cronenberg (the visceral), flavors of David Lynch (surreal story-linked visuals) and even Roman Polanski (plot-wise set-up). Funny thing is that the movies by those directors I was thinking of while watching DE VIERDE MAN weren't made until after 1983, the year of release of THE FOURTH MAN. So go figure.Very much credit indeed must be given to the story of the original novel by Gerard Reve this movie is based on. Gerard Reve is also the fictional name of the main character (a tormented writer, played by Jeroen Krabbé, balancing on the dangerous line of a severe psychosis). Now, has anybody stopped and thought about the fact that the word "rêve" is French for "dream"? And the film does feature a lot of dream-like/nightmarish sequences, often to that extend that you don't always know for sure if Gerard is awake or dreaming himself. Could this be coincidence...? Maybe it's just me, but I don't think so. Renée Soutendijk is pretty amazing as the leading lady (in a rather demanding role). She sometimes seems to be guilty of over-acting (in a subtle way). But that aspect was clearly intentional to portray the character she plays, since as this movie progresses, you become unsure about what to actually think of this lady and her intentions. Proves again what an excellent actress she is. I might add that the movie contains also several scenes portraying full frontal male & female nudity, as well as some rather explicit sex-scenes (and you will even notice that some scenes and aspects clearly were the blueprints of scenes later to be shot for Verhoeven's BASIC INSTINCT).Another aspect this movie has is a lot of symbolism and biblical references/images, which supposedly made the film thoroughly hated by some conservative/catholic movements at the time of its European release. Either way, it makes the movie worthy of a second viewing. Now, someone recently told me he had grave misgivings about DE VIERDE MAN. One of them being that the film supposedly manoeuvers itself into a position where it needs the divine intervention of the Virgin Mary to resolve itself. I myself have big issues with the way Catholicism has been, and still is sometimes, portrayed in many movies in any genre (so not only when it comes to religiously themed horror movies). But surprisingly, I had no misgivings whatsoever when it comes to THE FOURTH MAN. Although the Virgin Mary-aspect in the plot did make me scratch my head at one point, I also had fun with it, in a way. I think the keyword as to why it didn't bother me at all is 'duality'. Because, this movie works on two levels. Although 'divine intervention' might have resolved the plot-line from the protagonist's point of view... on the other hand: the movie implies that all this might have been the delirious ramblings of a raving madman. And that's the fun part: You never know for sure. And then there's the question: Could it be that Gerard Reve was somehow receiving distorted visions of things to come... like receiving omens? At one point in the movie, Gerard even tries to fool Christine into believing he is clairvoyant. The way he is playing Christine in that particular scene is exquisite to behold.So with its compelling story, convincing acting performances and adequate direction, DE VIERDE MAN is a very much recommended viewing indeed (especially if you enjoy a solid European psychological horror film). But make sure you see the original Dutch version (not the dubbed one).

Gerard is a writer with a somewhat overactive imagination. He is also homosexual and Catholic prone to Catholic guilt and something of a clairvoyant, or so it seems. On a trip to Flushing he is 'seduced' by Christine. When he discovers that Christine's new boyfriend is the bit of rough trade he's been fancying from afar he decides to stick around. After all, enforced heterosexuality has its compensations. Then he realizes that Christine's previous three husbands have all died violent deaths. Did Christine murder them and is he or the boyfriend, Herman, going to be 'the fourth man'? Verhoeven's overheated, over-egged melodrama is a delicious blend of Hitchcock and David Lynch, full of OTT eroticism and religious imagery and an awful lot of the colour red. A lot of the time it looks and feels like a dream and we can never be sure that what we are seeing is real or a figment of Gerard's imagination. The fun is in figuring it out. Also the fact that Christine is an infinitely more likable character that either the priggish Gerard or the bullish Herman means we are hardly like to root for either of the men over her. In fact, it's fair to say Gerard's comeuppance can't come soon enough. Super performances, too, from Jeroen Krabbe and Renee Soutendijk and easily Verhoeven's best film up to his wonderfully subversive piece of sci-fi "Starship Troopers".