I like the way Nicole Kidman chooses her roles lately. Of course, after 35 years of career, 84 roles, and one Academy Award she has less need to prove anything to the world and she can just search for interesting roles, scripts, and film directors and work for fun and for the pleasure of walking unexplored paths. The role in ‘Destroyer‘ seems to be inspired by a similar casting decision made 15 years ago by Charlize Theron with her role in ‘Monster‘ which brought an Academy Award to the beautiful South-African born actress for a role in which terrific make-up disfigured her to the brink of being non-recognizable in a role of a prostitute turned into a serial killer. The film directed by Karyn Kusama also disguises Kidman for part of the time, but the transformation she undergoes is not only physical. Unfortunately, from many points of view ‘Destroyer‘ does not succeed to the same level achieved by the film that made Patty Jenkins famous (fame renewed recently by the new ‘Wonder Woman‘ series).
The story. LAPD detective Erin Bell looks and behaves like a walking dead in the huge and violent city. She actually may have virtually died 16 years ago, when an undercover mission she took part in went wrong. Nothing seems to raise positive feelings in her, not even the relationship with her teenage daughter who prefers to live with her ex-husband, and seems to be making some bad choices in her own life. The only feeling that may motivate her is a desire for revenge which is awaken when a murder that seems to be related to her past happens. There are two story lines in the film and the action oscillates between the two: one is the very unorthodox murder inquiry which Erin is conducting merely in order to find the man behind the destruction of her life, and the flashbacks that will gradually clarify the reasons of her behavior in the events that turned upside down the path of her life.
What I liked. Film director Karyn Kusama succeeds to make clear both the psychological thriller story and the action scenes. Nicole Kidman‘s acting is convincing, and her make-up in the present day is excellent.
What I liked less. While the script is well-written and we slowly discover the dark past of the character, there is one big flaw that makes the whole story less credible. I believe that even in the crime-ridden LA described in the film, a police officer with such an erratic behavior would be suspended on the spot, not trusted to bear a gun and a badge of law officer. For a film that aspires to be realistic, this is a huge mistake in my opinion. There is also nothing likeable in this film, not even the lead character, certainly not the reality around her. Despite its ambitions the film is hard to watch, maybe also lasts a bit longer than necessary. Getting back again to ‘Monster‘, that film had a social and moral messages. In ‘Destroyer‘ it’s just one bad choice in the past that seems to impact everything, the rest is pulp fiction and very grim reality.