Destroyer

Nicole Kidman is the epicenter of this bleak crime thriller in which a veteran LAPD officer confronts her long-ago past in which she was part of an undercover operation aimed at a vicious gang of bank robbers. Here, she gives one of her best performances ever.

Kidman's disheveled look in this film is meant to reflect years of anguish and burn-out, in short the psychological toll of her job. An absolutely desolute view of Los Angeles is seen through her exhausted, but still enraged eyes. Another plot layer deals with her challenging relationship with her teenage daughter who has gone astray. Those around Kidman's character rarely see things her way, but that's because she has a past of her own to resolve.

Recommended as slow-burn material that gradually earns one's respect, even though I think a better editor would have made this a tighter film.

This is a great film. The kind of film they just don't make anymore. Kidman looks unrecognisable and delivers her best performance in a long time! Beautiful photography and a stellar cast make this an overall great watch.

My grade of B- is all for the A-list Nicole Kidman showing us she can act like Charlize Theron in Monster. Destroyer is her film, and she does her best to show us she can be badass L.A. PD detective Erin Bell with years on her face and chips on her shoulder. It's just that the vehicle for this iconic actress is a middling thriller with a jumbled plot about her being an undercover cop, a heist gone wrong, and her annoyingly disaffected daughter, Shelby (Jade Pettyjohn), for whom Erin suffers much.

Kidman is made up to look like a beaten woman, but we do get a few too many flashbacks to show us how beautiful she was as a young brunette cop with a future. Director Karyn Kusama keeps the camera close on Kidman, as if she were begging us not to forget that underneath some neat makeup beats the heart and face of a super movie star.

Beyond Kidman's overpowering presence, some solid performances emerge, for instance Sebastian Stan as Chris, her loving partner; and Beau Knapp, as the boyfriend Jay no one would want for your daughter. Myriad other minor characters reflect the complex world of LA, real and romantic. It's the best city I know for attractive crime and fetching diversity.

Perhaps the awareness of glamorous Kidman as a squinting Dirty Harry is what steers the film and her performance to mediocrity. This observation may condemn Kidman to playing courtesans and rich mothers, but the reality is that she has over the years crafted an enviable persona relying partly on her unusually good looks. Perhaps this rough detective will allow us to forget that image as she plays in more gritty roles that display, without distraction, a world-class actress.

If you are a Kidman fan (I became one after Moulin Rouge), see Destroyer, which just may pleasantly erase your picture of perfection.

Slow, boring and overly pretentious. Bland plot that is thinly spread over 2 painful hours. Kidman plodding around like she's soiled her pants isn't great acting - BMX Bandits is a better example of her fare. If you are expecting a pacy action thriller, avoid this. I would've walked out after 30 mins had it not sent me to sleep.

Nicole Kidman does in fact deliver an accomplished performance in Destroyer. Yes, the movie tends to move somewhat slowly and would be misrepresented as an action/adventure feature. But Kidman triumphantly carries the film with a masterful portrayal of a character that is strikingly different than expected, and in the process dramatically expands and enhances her reputation as an actress.