The 4th Man

Well known for being something of a run-through for the infamous Basic Instinct (1992), The Fourth Man (1983) remains one of maverick director Paul Verhoeven's greatest works. Like Basic Instinct, The Fourth Man blends sex and death in a delicious cocktail of mystery, suspense and exaggerated imagery; telling a story of seduction and paranoia through the eyes and mind of an unreliable narrator. In this instance, Gerard Reve; an alcoholic writer of lurid pulp fiction, who in the film's subtle and darkly sardonic opening sequence, staggers out of bed, naked and hung-over, and - in a scene of quiet confusion and matter of fact precision - garrottes his homosexual lover to the point of asphyxiation. Right from the start, Verhoeven is skilfully introducing those aforementioned themes of sex and death, as well as establishing the air of incredibly dark humour, symbolism and that sense of blurring the lines between fact and fiction to near incomprehensible levels of uncertainty, all of which will permeate the film's very core.

Verhoeven has often claimed that the somewhat skewed, surreal and heavily atmospheric look and feel of the film was purposely stylised to an almost obvious degree in order to placate the high-brow Dutch film critics who had, at that particular time in his career, dismissed previous films such as Keetje Tippel (1975) and Spetters (1980) as lurid sensationalism. Whether or not this is the case is open to debate, but what most impresses here is Verhoeven's energy and skill in presenting such a taut and labyrinthine thriller that seems to draw as much on the surreal and coolly evocative psychodrama of a filmmaker like Ingmar Bergman as it does on the twisted world of Alfred Hitchcock. From beginning to end, The Fourth Man offers old fashioned suspense and bold strokes of drama, all contrasted and juxtaposed against the director's moody, European style and liberal bursts of violence and eroticism. The design of the film - rich with over-saturated light and colour, shades of autumn and lingering camera movements - suggest a world hinged somewhere between the noir-like stylisation of Bernardo Bertolucci's The Conformist (1970) and the vibrant, lurid surrealism of Dario Argento's Suspiria (1977), to add further depths to the already densely layered mystery, and to create a world that seems real, but at the same time, entirely dreamlike.

The film works on a number of levels; on the one-hand, as a piece of pure entertainment, with Verhoeven's always memorable use of imagery - both grotesque and beautiful - and his scenes of upfront and often confrontational violence and sexuality. The film is as much about sexuality and desire as it is about sex; with Gerard introduced initially as gay, though he later has an affair with the central femme-fatale, but only after he has flattened her small breasts with his hands and confessed that she "looks like a boy". Later in the film he will seduce the fiancé of this character and again raise questions pertaining to the film's central enigma. In the most telling scene, Gerard attends a Q&A session for his new book. When someone in the audience asks him about his secret for writing, Gerard replies "I lie the truth". Perhaps a poor subtitle translation, but the implication that Gerard sees the world through a somewhat false perspective is certainly there; with the further elements of alcoholism, sexual confusion, lust and paranoia creating a fascinating central character, quite possibly creating the story in his mind as it moves along.

There are Hitchcockian allusions as noted, with the cold, blonde femme-fatale person represented by Christine, who has an air of subtle menace and great sexuality. Is Gerard seducing her or is she seducing Gerard, and just why have three of her past husbands turned up dead in recent years? Is Gerard imagining all of this? Is he genuinely interested in Christine, or is he more interested in getting closer to the man in her life? Are his reasons purely sexual or are they a further fuelled by his lurid obsessions with death? Questions like this crop up constantly with The Fourth Man, with Verhoeven denying the audience easy answers and instead plunging headlong into surreal visions of rotting eyeballs, strung-up meat carcasses, puddles of blood and the juxtaposition of homoerotic yearning with Christ-like metaphors. There's also a continual use of black-widow symbolism apparent right from the start, as well as all the elements coming together at the end in a sort of tragic foreshadowing of events. Even then, do we believe Gerard and his wild accusations, or is this just another example of the alcoholic, over-sexed writer "lying the truth" for the purposes of fiction.

The Fourth Man is a film that I haven't seen in a long time, but its images and story have always stayed with me. On my initial viewing in 2001, my familiarity with Verhoeven was based purely on his satirical Hollywood pictures, principally Robocop (1986), Total Recall (1991) and Starship Troopers (1997). I was also fairly unfamiliar with European cinema in general, meaning that the film's bold scenes of both straight and gay sex, nudity and imagined (or are they?) scenes of surreal, sexualised violence were a real revelation. A few years later I returned to the film and found it just as fascinating; with the labyrinthine plot, moody visuals, bold performances and totally entrancing story and character drawing me in; offering a great central mystery that is visually captivating and rife with a myriad of potential interpretations. It's easy to say that The Fourth Man is one of my favourite films; filled with cool irony, controversial images and ideas, and a completely fascinating, dreamlike evocation of the story at hand.

I had the opportunity to view this film while in university as part of the film society...let me tell you, I had the most eerie nightmares for two days afterwards...it is definitely a must see, but I wouldn't suggest being alone afterwards. Fans of Verhoeven's directing should see this as a contrast to films such as Robocop.

Paul Verhoeven is known in Hollywood as a maker of ultra-violent, ultra-sleazy films. 'Showgirls' bears the brunt of many bad movie jokes and 'Total Recall' and 'Robocop' are known to be very entertaining but stupid. Depending on who you talk to, 'Basic Instinct' is either sleazy trash or an erotic masterpiece. These films definitely do not belong to the art category: They are Hollywood entertainment. Most people think that is all Verhoeven can do. They will be surprised, as I was, that his Dutch films are suitably different. They are art-house material and several times have been nominated by several critic's associations as Best Foreign Picture. De Vierde Man [The Fourth Man] is his most notable accomplishment It is truly astonishing: It is eerie, gory, sexy and chilling with an amusing and involving performance by Jeroen Krabbe as a bisexual writer who bites off more than he can chew in a sexy hairdresser in the form of blonde Soutendijk.

Krabbe plays real-life writer Gerard Reve whose books are very well-known in the world of literature. He is asked to speak at a function attended by several prominent literary fans. Strange clues are revealed in his journey. He has a hallucination on the commuter train of an eye squishing and oozing through a hotel room door and of his name on a coffin. Later, at the function, a strange woman follows him with a camera, videotaping his every move. She is Christine Halsslag, a hairdresser who is incidently the groups treasurer and says she is videotaping him as '' a memory of his visit''. Though Reve is annoyed by her pestering camera, they seem to hit it off. She shows him the hotel where the group has paid for his room in case he is too tired to go home on the train. His eyes widen, it is the same hotel where the eye oozed through the door. Seeing he is unnerved, Christine asks him if he wants to stay with her. He accepts her offer and.....Things really begin to hit it off......

Soon, some strange things are revealed. It seems that Chrissy's been married three times and her three husbands have died rather bizarre deaths. After seeing a picture of Christine's sometime boyfriend. Herrman, Reve becomes determined to sleep with him and tries to manipulate Christine to invite Herrman back. But, who is doing the real manipulating?

The film is set up similar to a Kubrick film in that everything is told in riddles and visuals that tell the story in a way that resembles some kind of fable of good and evil. The film has much religious symbolism: the opening shot is of a spider crawling over the figure of Christ on the cross and Reve himself seems to have religious visions of what may be the Virgin Mary. Christine herself begins to act strangely: she drives a bit too recklessly for him. The film is very similar to Verhoeven's 'Basic Instinct' in that we have a main character who may be fatally attracted to a killer and the potential murderess has a cold, kinky style that is too strong to resist. Soutendijk even has a resemblance to Sharon Stone: the blonde hair, the sexy yet evil smile, she's like a dramatic version of Elizabeth Hurley's devil in 'Bedazzled'. She so obviously but so easily poisoning him with her sexiness, she is like a devil, tempting the hero with endless pleasure for a high price. If the Virgin Mary finds it so important to protect Reve, isn't it conceivable that Christine is a manifestation of the devil. A behavior near the end seems to suggest this, she is done with Reve and needs to move on to a new soul

Believe it or not, I haven't given away anything. The film twists in so many directions that some things may or may not have ever happened. The film is astonishingly and intelligently directed by Verhoeven and after seeing this, you will be tempted to see his other Dutch films before he was Hollywoodized. Afterwards, I found myself wishing that Verhoeven would do another one of these, a sexy, smart and stunning film.

... but without the age thing and with a man instead of a girl. Not many things from the 80s age this well. Visions of impending doom and a boyish blonde drive an author with a swollen liver to the brink of insanity and an ever growing belief in a holy saviour.

Paul Verhoeven's predecessor to his breakout hit 'Basic Instinct' is a stylish and shocking neo-noir thriller. Verhoeven has become known for making somewhat sleazy trash films, both in his native Holland and in America and this film is one of the reasons why. The Fourth Man follows the strange story of Gerard Reve (played by Jeroen Krabbé); a gay, alcoholic and slightly mad writer who goes to Vlissingen to give a talk on the stories he writes. While there, he meets the seductive Christine Halsslag (Renée Soutendijk) who takes him back to her house where he discovers a handsome picture of one of her lovers and proclaims that he will meet him, even if it kills him.

Paul Verhoeven twists the truth many times in this film, and that ensures that you never quite know where you are with it. Many of the occurrences in The Fourth Man could be what they appear to be, but they could easily be interpreted as something else entirely and this keeps the audience on the edge of their seats for the duration, and also makes the film work as this narrative is what it thrives on. Paul Verhoeven is not a filmmaker that feels he has to restrain himself, and that is one of things I like best about him. This film features a very shocking scene that made me feel ill for hours afterwards (and that doesn't happen very often!). I wont spoil it because it needs the surprise element to work...but you'll see what I mean when you see the film (make sure you get the uncut version!). There is also a number of other macabre scenes that are less shocking than the one I've mentioned, but are lovely nonetheless; a man gets eaten by lions, another one has a pipe sent through his skull, a boat is smashed in half...lovely.

The acting in The Fourth Man isn't anything to write home about, but it's solid throughout. Jeroen Krabbé holds the audience's attention and looks the part as the drunken writer. It is Renée Soutendijk that impresses the most, though, as the femme fatale at the centre of the tale. Her performance is what Sharon Stone would imitate nine years later with Basic Instinct, but the original fatale did it best. Paul Verhoeven's direction is solid throughout as he directs our attention through numerous points of view, all of which help to create the mystery of the story. Verhoeven has gone on to make some rubbish, but he obviously has talent and it's a shame that he doesn't put it to better use. Of all the Verhoeven films I've seen, this is the best and although it might be difficult to come across; trust me, it's worth the effort.