The last new Paul Verhoeven film I saw was 2006's Black Book, which is kind of a minor masterpiece. He had a Dutch movie last year, Tricked, but I'm not even sure if it got US distribution. Which all goes to say that it's been too long between Paul Verhoeven films, especially major ones. That could change soon, as Wild Bunch is shopping a new Verhoeven at Cannes... and it looks like it's the sort of Verhoeven that's going to cause controversy.
It's an adaptation of the 2012 novel Oh!, and the logline is sure to raise the hackles on Film Crit Hulk's neck (he's absolutely sick and tired of rape as a plot point). Oh! is about:
A psychological game of cat-and-mouse between a businesswoman and a stalker who raped her, a crime for which she is seeking revenge.
You could almost think this wouldn't be too controversial, but then you read this quote from Wild Bunch co-chief Vincent Maraval:
“Casting is being finalised. It’s a very intelligent script but it’s also pure Verhoeven, extremely erotic and perverted, so the actress has to be prepared to take that on.”
So yeah, this is probably going to upset people.
You might know Verhoeven best from his action masterpieces like Robocop and Starship Troopers, but his early career was full of artier films like Soldier of Orange, some of which - like Turkish Delight - were fairly sexually explicit. Basically Verhoeven has been returning to his roots in old age while Hollywood has been busy cannibalizing his work with terrible remakes.
If Oh! ends up being a firestorm of controversy Verhoeven always has another career to fall back on - his book Jesus of Nazareth is an extraordinary and well-researched history of the historical Jesus. I can't recommend it enough.