Destroyer

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Sebastian Stan, Toby Kebbell, Bradley Whitford, Tatiana Maslany, Scoot McNairy

Director: Karyn Kusama

After receiving some bills that have been stained purple, gaunt and grizzled LAPD Detective Erin Bell (Nicole Kidman) is convinced a man named Silas (Toby Kebbell) is taunting her. As we cut between her search for Silas and events from her past, we learn Silas was the focus of an undercover mission that she and her partner Chris (Sebastian Stan) were running, which culminated in a bank robbery gone wrong. As her search deepens, she confronts many faces from the past, uses and abuses her police power, and tries to salvage her relationship with her daughter.

Coming from the team who did The Invitation, which was a very underrated film in 2015, expectations were quite high for me. The greatest asset for the film is Nicole Kidman, who gives the performance of her career in a very unglamorous role. Her sunken eyes, her dead stare, and how she treats those around her tell a story, a more interesting one than the story involving Silas. I don’t think there is a shot in the film that she isn’t in and she commands the movie. The rest of the cast, while filled with reliable actors, aren’t a focus of the film and are really only in a handful of scenes.

Nicole’s performance aside, the film could have been more focused. The cross cutting nature of the story makes it hard to find a good pace for the film, which drags in points. Also not as successful is the mother daughter relationship, which is meant to have an emotional payoff that didn’t quite hit the mark. The story also hinges on a late in the game twist which some might consider a cheat.

There is very little action in the film, which in itself isn’t a problem. But the one extended gunfight/bank robbery that hits in the middle of the movie had me wishing there had been more of these types of scenes. While it would have betrayed the realistic tone the film was trying to use, it definitely could have benefitted from more bursts of tension.

Director Karyn Kusama has had some missteps (Jennifer’s Body, Æon Flux) and while the film is a bit of a mess pacing wise, she still shows why she is one of the more exciting filmmakers working today. Visually, the film is on point and she proved she can work with a wide range of actors in this film. Seriously, the cast in this film is very impressive. I hope she gets the chance to lead some bigger projects down the road.