A couple of years ago, I never would have believed that I'd go see a movie just because Nicole Kidman was in it.
I remember back when Nicole Kidman did nothing for me. I thought she was okay looking, and perhaps a decent actress, but that was it. I didn't think much else of her. Perhaps that was because she was in the horrible "Batman Forever" (no one could know that the following one, "Batman and Robin," would be even worse... it's a shame what happened to the "Batman" movies after Tim Burton stopped directing them). Eventually, I saw "Eyes Wide Shut," but the only reason I saw it was because it was a Stanley Kubrick movie. The trailers made it look interesting, and the controversy surrounding it helped, but my main reason for seeing it was because it was directed by the brilliant Stanley Kubrick (who, sadly, died during post-production). As I expected, I really liked the movie, and I walked out of the theater doing a lotta thinking. Typical Kubrick. But imagine my surprise when I also walked out totally loving Nicole Kidman. Her performance in "Eyes Wide Shut" is astonishing me, as is her beauty. I never realized how beautiful she is! And she's got the perfect belly (for those of you who are new to my web site, my favorite part of the female body is the belly... I go more in-depth about my unusual, yet relatively innocent, belly fetish in my review of "Bring It On"). A while later, when I saw her in "Moulin Rouge," I was no less impressed. My God, the woman is a great actress! And she's beautiful! How did I not see this before? Then came "The Others," where she played a completely different role from the ones she played in "Eyes Wide Shut" and "Moulin Rouge" (though she was just as convincing). By the time "The Others" came out, she divorced Tom Cruise, and the media made a saint outta her. Now, the critics, the press, and the general public all love Nicole Kidman. And why not? She's beautiful, she's classy, she's talented, and throughout the whole ordeal with the divorce, she demonstrated tremendous poise. But is she now as big and famous as her former husband Tom Cruise? That's hard to say, but if "Birthday Girl" becomes a hit, then I'd have to say yes. Why would anyone see this movie? It's not getting very good reviews, the trailers don't look all that great, the director is a relative newcomer, and the only well-known person in the cast is Nicole Kidman. Why would anyone see this movie other than to see her? That was MY only reason for seeing it.
If your only reason to see "Birthday Girl" is to see Nicole Kidman, then you'll be getting your money's worth. Her acting is superb, she looks very sexy (even though it looks as though they tried to make her look kinda drab), and there are a few nice shots of her gorgeous belly. But if you wanna see "Birthday Girl" because you think it's gonna be a good movie, you're better off staying home. It's not a bad movie, it just isn't all that great. It's mediocre, and the ending is very anti-climactic. When it ends, there are lots of loose ends that need to be tied up, but they're all ignored. The way I see it, the movie is incomplete. It ends badly, with more story needing to be told. Then again, I'm not so sure I woulda wanted this movie to go on much longer.
I guess what it comes right down to is that the story isn't all that interesting. Not only that, there's no one to root for, no one to side with. I guess we're supposed to sympathize with Ben Chaplin's character, but he's so weak and pathetic, I couldn't pity him, nor did I care whether or not things would be okay for him. But at least Nicole Kidman is in it. She's definitely got starpower, because every moment she's on the screen, the movie seems to get a lot better. Then again, I'm probably a little biased.
Despite the uninteresting script, the cast does a very good job, and I don't just mean Nicole Kidman. As I mentioned earlier, Ben Chaplin is in it (he co-starred in "Lost Souls" with little miss shoplifter, Winona Ryder, and he was also in "The Thin Red Line"... and no, he's NOT related to Charles Chaplin). He played the loser really well, but like I said, it was hard to sympathize with his character. Not including Ben Chaplin, this movie has weird casting. They got an Australian (Nicole Kidman) to play a Russian woman, then they get two French men to play Russian guys. The Russian guys are played by Vincent Cassel and Mathieu Kassovitz, and they're both very good. They've both worked together before. Vincent Cassel starred in "Hate" and he co-starred with Jean Reno in "The Crimson Rivers." Both movies were directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. Cassel was also in "Elizabeth," and he was the voice of "Robin Hood" in "Shrek." Most recently, he was in "Brotherhood of the Wolf." Mathieu Kassovitz was seen most recently as the love interest of the title character in my favorite movie of 2001, "Amélie."
"Birthday Girl" was directed by Jez Butterworth (this is the second movie he directed, the first was called "Mojo," which he also wrote). Butterworth wrote the script for "Birthday Girl" with his brother Tom. This is Tom Butterworth's debut as a feature film writer. I've never seen "Mojo," but lotsa people seem to like it. I hope it's better than this movie.
Actually, I don't think "Birthday Girl" is a bad movie, I gotta make sure I don't send that message. It's mediocre. It has great acting, especially by Nicole Kidman, but it's not a movie you should go outta your way to see. Still, I hope it makes lotsa money, because I want Nicole Kidman to get all the success she deserves.
Scale of 1-10: 6