Nicole Kidman films

I just saw the film Destroyer which stars Nicole Kidman, who plays an LA cop named Erin who as a young deputy goes undercover with a gangs and suffers an experience which affects the rest of her life.  About three quarters of the film focuses on Bell about 17 years later, which is more age appropriate for Kidman, who is 51.  At this stage Bell is weathered and very disillusioned and obsessed with catching the head of the gang who had gotten away.  There have been many films and shows about male cops who have been beaten down by life but this is the first time I have seen it from a female perspective.  Kidman is equally convincing playing Bell in both time periods without the digital de-ageing process used in the Marvel movies.

As I watched the film I started thinking about Kidman’s career and how she, despite her leading lady looks and talent, often gravitates toward challenging material.  For many years she was known as Tom Cruise’s wife and the accompanying stardom may have overshadowed her talent.  Since the marriage ended and she has taken on ever more diverse roles I think the industry views her differently.  Kidman can headline a big film like Moulin Rouge, be part of an ensemble like Big Little Lies, or take on a supporting role like in The Upside.  Kidman often seems to use her marquee name to support smaller projects that give a lift to up and coming filmmakers.  Here I would like to make note of some of the films of hers that I have enjoyed and perhaps a few I would suggest skipping.  There are many that I have not seen so the ones that most interest me I have also listed.

Recommended:

Dead Calm (1989): Kidman is fantastic in the role of a young grieving mother who is on a yacht with a killer while her husband is trapped on another boat which is sinking.  Kidman’s Rae drives the story proving to be very resourceful in this crisis while never letting the audience forget her fear.  Sam Neill is also understated as her husband who and Billy Zane (who seems to have disappeared since Titantic) is creepy as the killer.  Director Phillip Noyce uses the isolated Pacific Ocean setting to keep the suspense high but the violence never overwhelms the story.  The studio mandated finale is unnecessary and the setup is improbable but it plays out as a satisfactory punctuation to the story.  After this film, which I first saw about 1992, I was always impressed by Kidman but never surprised.  ****

Side note: Poor Sam Neill, who around that time often played decent men whose wives were often preyed upon by other men (ie this film, The Piano, Jurassic Park, Horse Whisperer). 

Malice (1993): This medical thriller directed by Harold Becker (who a couple of years earlier made the sexy thriller Sea of Love with Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin) stars Bill Pullman and Nicole Kidman as a childless couple who take in a doctor played by Alec Baldwin.  The film is difficult to discuss without getting into some twisty developments but I will say that while Baldwin has a lot of fun playing the arrogant doctor, the subtleties of Kidman’s character are what make the film worth re-watching, especially noting her expression in one scene in which she is looking at the ceiling.  Kidman’s actions in her first scene versus the climax make for an interesting juxtaposition.  The film also is a good showcase for Bill Pullman, who often played the man the leading lady left for the sexier lead around those times, who is a very Hitchcockian hero, a decent man who has to overcome an unexpected challenge.  Becker makes good use of dark lighting and the old houses in the New England setting. ***

My Life (1993): Kidman plays the pregnant wife of Michael Keaton’s ad exec who is fighting cancer and decides to leave videos to his unborn son giving the fatherly advice Keaton fears that he will not be able to deliver in person.  The film is more of a showcase for Keaton who for the first two acts is perhaps the most energetic cancer patient ever, but Kidman provides a lot of warmth yet sadness as the his wife who is not sure if she is going to lose her husband.  The film is a worth a look for a reminder of what people live for and how easy it is to let small differences drive a big wedge in families.  The scenes of the birth of the child are spot on.  Kidman’s performance in the final scene is heartbreaking but exactly what Keaton needs in that moment. ***

To Die For (1995): Kidman plays an amoral young woman from a small town who will do anything to create a television personality in Gus Van Sant’s satire of TV culture, and to a lesser degree noir thrillers like Body Heat.  Kidman has a ball using her feminine wiles to manipulate Joaquin Phoenix’s young high school student to do her bidding.  Matt Damon is fun as Kidman’s dimwitted husband and Dan Hedaya has a key role as Damon’s father who is pushed a step too far.  ***

Moulin Rouge (2001): Kidman and Ewan MacGregor play star crossed lovers in Baz Luhrmann’s outlandish adaptation of the stage show.  Kidman is forced to choose between a life with MacGregor’s penniless writer versus a more financially stable life heading up a popular Parisian show.  The costumes and set design are deliberately over the top.  The emotions are expressed very theatricality as would be expected from Luhrman.  This film is not for all tastes but I would suggest watching MacGregor sings “Your Song” about half an hour in.  After that the film will either have grabbed you or not.  The first half of the film uses Your Song as the romantic theme.  Then after MacGregor writes “Come What May” it is used as the couple’s theme. ****

The Others (2001): Kidman, looking more than a little like Grace Kelly, plays a woman who goes to extreme lengths to protect her children from their allergy to light in this atmospheric ghost story written and directed by Alejandro Amenabar. Around the time this was being made Kidman's soon to be ex-husband Tom Cruise was filming a remake of Amenabar's film Abre Los Ojos called Vanilla Sky.  Cruise was one of the Executive Producers on this film ***

Birth (2004): Kidman plays a widow who becomes convinces a 10 year old boy is the reincarnation of her deceased husband, much to the consternation of her new boyfriend played by Danny Huston.  This potentially disturbing subject is handled interestingly. ***

Paddington (2014): A delightful if somewhat formulaic story about a talking small bear that comes from Peru to London and moves in with an English family, welcomed by all except the father.  Kidman has a ball chewing the scenery as a taxidermist who wants to kidnap Paddington.  There is a real heart to both Ben Whishaw’s Paddington and especially the always terrific Sally Hawkins as the mother.  The sequel, in which Hugh Grant plays the villain (Kidman does not appear), is even better. ****

Lion (2016): A young Indian boy from Western India named Saroo is transported hundreds of miles away to Calcutta where he eventually is sent to an orphanage and then adopted by an Austrailan couple, played by Kidman and David Wenheim.  About half of this true story film focuses on the young boys adventures and the second half on the adult Saroo’s years long attempts to locate his birth home via Google Earth, and as such, his place in the world.  Although it is difficult to watch a young child in this situation, and the adult Saroo becomes uncomfortably obsessed with accomplishing his goal, the film is inspirational.  Ultimately the grounding that Saroo, has with his adopted mother who unexpectedly gives her blessing, makes way to the moving finale. ***

Big Little Lies (2017): This HBO series focuses on a group of upper class women in Monterrey, CA in this adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s novel.  Kidman plays Celeste, an abused wife and former attorney and by far the most fascinating character in the story.  Kidman, who has the darkest arc of the series, is able to relay to the audience the complexity of her relationship with her possessive husband which helps explain why she stays with him despite the escalating threat to her and her safety.  There is a second season which I have not seen yet. ****

Destroyer (discussed above) ****

Want to see

Rabbit Hole

The Hours

The Beguiled

Aquaman

Boy Erased

I recommend skipping:

The Human Stain (2003): Kidman and Anthony Hopkins star in this film about a professor who loses his job after being accused of making a racist remark in class.  The irony is the professor is actually a very light skinned African American who decided to shun his heritage and pass for white.   Despite the interesting premise, and an early look at future Prison Break star Wentworth Miller as the younger version of Hopkins character, the film does not flow well and I found myself uninvested in the central relationship between Hopkins and Kidman’s janitor. **

Bewitched (2005): A silly comedy with Kidman and Will Ferrell based loosely on the 1960s show.  **

Australia (2008): Bah Luzhrmann’s reunion with Kidman in a period romantic epic opposite Hugh Jackman is overly fanciful and fails to the hold viewer interest over its extended running time. **

Secret in Their Eyes (2015): Despite a stellar cast (Kidman, Julia Roberts, and Chiwetel Ejiorfor) this remake of the superb Argentinian thriller is misguided effort.  Changes are made in the victim to connect her more closely to the team but this removes a lot of the balance of tones from the original.  Kidman and Ejiofor are far more overt in their attraction than their counterparts from the original film.  The resolution following the big twist puts too fine a point on what was effectively opaque.  The most admirable detail is Julia Roberts’ complete lack of vanity in her  appearance, which is accentuated by her husband’s cinematography. *