Destroyer review

DESTROYER:

NICOLE KIDMAN’S PERFORMANCE IS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THIS FLAWED BUT GRIPPING CRIME DRAMA!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

ANNAPURNA PICTURES

Nicole Kidman in Destroyer

            You asked for it? Here it is, by popular demand a review of the new crime drama, Destroyer which is not to be confused with the Godzilla monster, Destoroyah. Anyway, the film is directed by Karyn Kusama (Girlfight, Jennifer’s Body, The Invitation) and stars Nicole Kidman (Eyes Wide Shut, Moulin Rouge!, Aquaman) as an LAPD detective who went undercover as a gang member which ended in tragedy, finally getting a chance to get revenge on the gang when its leader re-emerges several years later.

            Destroyer is a very ambitious project with only a limited theatrical run at the time of this review and focuses more on drama and establishing its protagonist over gritty violence, though there is plenty of that. I doubt it will appeal to the general public, but for me I thought it was a legitimately solid film with one hell of a Nicole Kidman performance.

             The film follows LAPD detective, Erin Bell (Kidman) who, as a young cop was placed undercover with a gang in the California desert with horrific end results. But when the gang’s leader, Silas (Toby Kebbell-RocknRolla, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, A Monster Calls) re-emerges many years later, Erin must work her way through the remaining members and her own history with them to finally take these criminals down for destroying her past.

            The film also stars Sebastian Stan (Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Martian, I, Tonya) as Chris, Tatiana Maslany (Diary of the Dead, Eastern Promises, Woman in Gold) as Petra, Bradley Whitford (Transparent, Get Out, The Post) as DiFranco, Jade Pettyjohn (An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars, The Last Ship, School of Rock (TV series)) as Erin’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Shelby Bell, Scoot McNairy (12 Years a Slave, Gone Girl, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice) as Ethan, Toby Huss (The Adventures of Pete & Pete, King of the Hill, Carnivále) as Gil Lawson, James Jordan (Veronica Mars, Wind River, The Endless) as Toby, Beau Knapp (Run All Night, Southpaw, Death Wish (2018)) as Jay, and Shamier Anderson (The Next Step, Race, Wynonna Earp) as Antonio.

            Overall, Destroyer is a thrilling crime drama that suffers from some pacing issues and is a bit overlong. But, Nicole Kidman’s performance alone is more than enough for me to recommend seeing it.

            This is easily some of Nicole Kidman’s best acting and she goes full “Charlize Theron Monster” as she transforms into her character. I’m serious, the makeup on Kidman is so good there were times in the movie I had to remind myself “Oh yeah, that’s Nicole Kidman” and she’s usually a pretty recognizable actress, this is truly one of those performances that you have to see to believe.

            As mentioned before, this is not a perfect movie and there are some problems with its pacing and narrative structure. A lot of the movie is told through flashbacks and certain plot points are told out of order, which is fine if you know how to execute it properly, but there were a couple of times where we flash back to Kidman in the gang and nothing much really happens, and I was like “What was the point of cutting to that?”.

For most of the movie, I was completely invested and on the edge of my seat anticipating what was going to happen next. But by the time a gritty shootout in a bank between Kidman, two other cops, and several gang members ended, and the film kept going, I kind of punched out and wanted it to wrap up.

            Not to say the final act of the movie is bad but it never really lived up to the gunfight in the bank where it really felt the stakes have been raised. Had the movie been trimmed down by ten minutes and was given more time to develop its side characters, this would have been a much stronger story.

            That’s really about all I can say with Destroyer, it’s a perfectly decent movie with a gripping story but it’s a little rough around the edges. However, thanks to Nicole Kidman’s extraordinary performance as Erin Bell, it’s more than worth the price of admission especially if you’re a Nicole Kidman fan and/or a fan of gritty crime films.