Destroyer - Movie Review
Destroyer
Plot: A police detective reconnects with people from an undercover assignment in her distant past in order to make peace.
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Sebastian Stan, Toby Kebbell, Tatiana Maslany, Bradley Whitford, Jade Pettyjohn, Scoot McNairy
Director: Karyn Kusama
Certificate: 15 (very strong language, strong violence, sex)
Runtime: 123 minutes
Release Date: Friday 25th January 2019
Many Hollywood stars are known for their glamour, beauty, sophistication and overall class. That's why, when presented with a role that flips those expectations, actors can often knock it out of the park. This exact methodology can be applied to Nicole Kidman's performance in Destroyer. There hasn't been a performance this ugly and transformative in years.
Set in the grimy underbelly of Los Angeles, Destroyer follows former undercover officer Erin Bell who is retracing the events of her past as old foes begin to crop back into her life. One of the most startling aspects to Destroyer is the bleakness of this world. Director Karyn Kusama, known for such prominent works like Jennifer's Body and Æon Flux, truly outdoes herself. Los Angeles is far from the city of angels. It's a filthy, disgusting world full of foul human beings. Destroyer leaves you with an overall sensation of feeling unclean. Kidman is chameleonic as Bell, an incredibly damaged soul that has had any form of happiness or life sapped from her very existence. With top notch makeup work and a unforgivingly brutal sense of pain and anguish oozing from Kidman, how she hasn't earned enough awards recognition is baffling. As for some of the supporting performances, they are all playing second fiddle to Kidman. Sebastian Stan, who is having an impressive run in these dark and gritty supporting roles (see I,Tonya) is equally as impressive here. Toby Kebbell is the primary antagonist and source of Kidman's agony. Despite a strong and unsettling depiction of a gang/cult leader that willingly encourages games of Russian Roulette, Kebbell is sadly underutilised and his eventual confrontation with Kidman is unfortunately anticlimactic.
Plot: A police detective reconnects with people from an undercover assignment in her distant past in order to make peace.
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Sebastian Stan, Toby Kebbell, Tatiana Maslany, Bradley Whitford, Jade Pettyjohn, Scoot McNairy
Director: Karyn Kusama
Certificate: 15 (very strong language, strong violence, sex)
Runtime: 123 minutes
Release Date: Friday 25th January 2019
Many Hollywood stars are known for their glamour, beauty, sophistication and overall class. That's why, when presented with a role that flips those expectations, actors can often knock it out of the park. This exact methodology can be applied to Nicole Kidman's performance in Destroyer. There hasn't been a performance this ugly and transformative in years.
Set in the grimy underbelly of Los Angeles, Destroyer follows former undercover officer Erin Bell who is retracing the events of her past as old foes begin to crop back into her life. One of the most startling aspects to Destroyer is the bleakness of this world. Director Karyn Kusama, known for such prominent works like Jennifer's Body and Æon Flux, truly outdoes herself. Los Angeles is far from the city of angels. It's a filthy, disgusting world full of foul human beings. Destroyer leaves you with an overall sensation of feeling unclean. Kidman is chameleonic as Bell, an incredibly damaged soul that has had any form of happiness or life sapped from her very existence. With top notch makeup work and a unforgivingly brutal sense of pain and anguish oozing from Kidman, how she hasn't earned enough awards recognition is baffling. As for some of the supporting performances, they are all playing second fiddle to Kidman. Sebastian Stan, who is having an impressive run in these dark and gritty supporting roles (see I,Tonya) is equally as impressive here. Toby Kebbell is the primary antagonist and source of Kidman's agony. Despite a strong and unsettling depiction of a gang/cult leader that willingly encourages games of Russian Roulette, Kebbell is sadly underutilised and his eventual confrontation with Kidman is unfortunately anticlimactic.
At just over two hours, Destroyer isn't the fastest paced movie by any means. Kusama and her screenwriters purposefully make Destroyer a methodical slow burn that switches between time periods without a clear distinction. There are times, specifically the unnecessary family dynamic, in which Destroyer drags its feet and gets a little sloppy in its execution. However, it finally kicks into gear as we near the third act and from that moment on, Destroyer becomes uncomfortably reminiscent of infamous gritty crime dramas such as Se7en and Drive. Kusama proves herself to be a competent action director with a number of small-scale but nevertheless, intense combat sequences. Kidman is in her element firing assault rifles and kicking the teeth in if anyone crosses her. Unfortunately, the hard-nosed badass attitude made it difficult to find any form of emotional connection for the entirety of Destroyer. Instead, Destroyer, at times, behaved more like a standalone episode of True Detective.
A distressing crime drama that isn't afraid to crawl under your fingernails and dirty your soul, Destroyer is anything but an easy watch. Yet, Kidman's performance is the reason to buy a ticket. She's powerful in every sense of the word of dominates from start to finish.
Luke's Verdict: 7.5/10
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