Destroyer

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.

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.

I'm not sure why there are so many negative reviews, although in reading them they have either not watched the film or simply failed to understand the plot.

It's a good, dark film based around revenge, leading you on a journey to discover to discover who the real villain is.

Please ignore the reviews that state it's confusing (it's really not) or the ones the watched 30 minutes of it (not sure how you can review something you haven't seen?) Watch it and make your own mind up!

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.

Greetings again from the darkness. The rogue/burned-out cop obsessed with an old case or particular criminal nemesis is something we have seen many times before. Ordinarily there would be no reason to seek out yet another movie on the subject; however, this time the reason is obvious ... Nicole Kidman.

Ms. Kidman, an Oscar winner for THE HOURS (2002), is an excellent actress and has had a wonderful career, but this is something altogether different for her. She plays LAPD Detective Erin Bell, a worn-down, emotionally shattered shell of the idealistic cop who, 17 years earlier, was part of an undercover operation that went tragically and violently wrong. Director Karyn Kusama (JENNIFER'S BODY, 2009) bounces back and forth on the timelines - sometimes we are viewing Erin's undercover work with her partner Chris (Sebastian Stan), and others we get the haggard Erin of present day. The contrast is stark.

The ghost of case past has returned, and we witness what has haunted her these many years. Past decisions and actions have rotted her spirit, while alcohol has since destroyed her body. She is a wreck - physically and emotionally, and her reputation within the force is shot. It wouldn't be totally accurate to describe her as self-destructive since she has already destructed. The only thing keeping her going is booze and a desire for revenge.

Flashbacks take us through her early work with the crime gang led by Silas (Toby Kebbell), a master of psychological manipulation (think Charles Manson). We also see Erin's too-close connection to partner Chris, and a terrific bank heist scene explains how things went down. Now it's 17 years later, and Silas has resurfaced. Erin wonders why. We also see Erin's feeble attempts to be a mother to her 16 year old daughter (do the math) Shelby, played by Jade Pettyjohn. The two have only a sliver of a relationship as Shelby lives with Erin's ex Ethan (the eternally underutilized Scoot McNairy).

Other support work is provided by Tatiana Maslany as one of Silas' gang, and Bradley Whitford as a scummy defense attorney. Erin has a sequence with the latter that emphasizes just how alone she is. When asked where her partner is, we realize she has no partner with her and no back-up on the way ... she is a lonely, desperate, rogue cop with a murky plan and a head clouded by booze.

Writing partners Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi (known for CLASH OF THE TITANS and RIDE ALONG) deliver very few surprises with the script, leaving the burden on Ms. Kidman to keep us interested. And despite her character's train wreck of a life, the performance is quite something to behold ... her look, her gait, and even her whispered voice - all point to a woman hanging on by a thread and lacking basic daily energy to show any signs of hope. Director Kusama adds texture by showing many non-touristy areas of Los Angeles, and filming the two timelines in such a way that the structure works - although the Erin in shambles is far more intriguing than the younger one. On a separate note, there should be a special Oscar for the make-up team that managed to make the usually glamorous Ms. Kidman look realistically shattered.