Destroyer - My Thoughts 💭

"Destroyer" - Dir. Karyn Kusama

On paper, “Destroyer” sounds like something that shouldn't work. Nicole Kidman with a dark and dowdy transformation plays a corrupt detective named Erin Bell. She harbours guilt from a past undercover job gone wrong - almost two decades later she's a walking mess out for justice as Bell tries to reconcile her regrets of the past.

There's no humorous quips but Kidman utters her lines with the seriousness and toughness of Clint Eastwood. It's really the type of role that would be written in the past for someone like Al Pacino. In fact, the film reminded me a lot of Pacino in Christopher Nolan's "Insomnia". The narrative's not so much about the twists and turns (although some viewers may call climactic developments these) yet at its heart it's a genre film with all the beats and tropes, but at times it also defies genre as a supremely performed character study through Kidman's unabashed gutsiness to etch out Bell's torment and inhabit her character's being completely. Once you feel the gravity of Bell's guilt, regret and her modus operandi, Kidman's weary and damaged transformation takes on new meaning. The character's nihilistic outlook that all is hopeless because inside her it is, is matched by the make-up department. The film's tone is bleak with no real humour to offset it. While the cast are uniformly restrained and forceful at times, matching up to Kidman's grimy prowess and Kusama's atmosphere of urban decay, which is all the more heightened by a pulsating and ambient soundtrack by Theodore Shapiro.

Rumour has it that the role was originally written for a man. While there are some solid critical and fan reviews; there are a particular amount of negative reviews which seem to stem from the fact that the film is confusing due to Kusama's narrative structure and the underwhelming lead performance. That negative reaction says more about audience expectations of how a Hollywood lead should appear on screen (such as attractive) and audience members not being able to get past this discomfort. By Kidman starring in a role usually reserved for men - it says much about how women have been expected to be portrayed on screen (as traditionally in film it fails to mirror their depth of experience). Yet, Kusama's vision and Kidman's dynamic performance guarantee, against the odds, to make compelling and entertaining cinema without playing gender politics, or simply the notion of having a tokenistic tough female in the lead. In the world of the film, Bell exists simply as 'tormented human'. That she is played by a woman only adds an extra layer for audience discussion after the film.

Counter to the perceived quarrels of the film's narrative structure, as one reviewer 'Dschmeding' on IMDB noted, "Destroyer has a straight-forward plot that is not using cheap twists but rather telling a straight story in a hypnotic trance-like way and cutting up the timelines to reveal information at the time when the director considered it necessary" (Deschmeding, Feb 19, 2019).

It's sometimes challenging to be unbiased with my affection for Nicole Kidman as an actress, but the facts are, the more complex the character - the deeper she seems to fall into the role. There are very few shades of the Kidman people know in "Destroyer". So ignore the prosthetic nose which she doesn't want us to talk about. This is her most 'out there' and complete transformation since her Oscar win for "The Hours". While the performance is of course not solely about the make-up department and prosthetics, but also the nuances of the way she alters her walk, mannerisms, voice (throaty and deeper) as well as manoeuvres her body in believable ways, so don't be agape solely on the facial transformation.

When Kidman enters 'beast mode' halfway through proceedings the suspense is ratcheted-up. Whilst the ending is more character building than showdown, it climaxes with moments that remind you that cinema today still has room to surprise and tell entertaining stories outside of Marvel and Disney.

I’m giving “Destroyer” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ out of five

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You can also check out my TV review of “Sharp Objects” here: