DVD Review: Birthday Girl (C)

Birthday Girl (2001)
Directed by Jez Butterworth
Starring Nicole Kidman, Ben Chaplin, Vincent Cassel and Mathieu Kassovitz
MPAA: R
Grade: C

Review by Scott Standish

Nicole Kidman's stellar performance as a Russian mail order bride can't save this film from falling flat in the end. Birthday Girl, directed by Jez Butterworth, has all the makings of an indie hit: great opening storyline, a little bit of sex appeal, and a respected top tier actress in the title role. However, the script loses its edge as the story plods along, and by the end, of the film, the cliches are everywhere.

Here's the setup: John, a lonely banker in his 30's orders a bride from a Russian web site called "From Russia With Love". Nadia (played remarkably well by Nicole Kidman) shows up, but unfortunately she doesn't even speak English. John realizes he made a mistake and attempts to return her several times - until she seduces him. She also discovers his secret stash of kinky pornography and decides to indulge his kinks in order to further along this relationship. They fall in love and John gives her a Russian-English dictionary.

Things are looking up for John at this point as well as the audience. Birthday Girl has set up a pretty interesting premise: lonely 30-something banker with a taste for light bondage orders up a smart Russian bride that must learn a new language and fit into a completely new world. The problems that would lie ahead for this internet marriage by itself would make for a good drama. However, the screenwriter forces the movie to a higher intensity level, and things quickly turn predictable.

On Nadia's birthday the two decide to have an intimate party. Much to John's dismay Nadia's uninvited "cousin" and his weasel friend show up from Russia. They all get drunk and celebrate but in the morning, things start to turn for the worse. I won't reveal the twist here, but in the movie you can see it coming a mile away. By the end of the film, you are left wondering what original directions this promising film could have ventured instead of the tried and true formula that we are forced to endure.

If you are a fan of Nicole Kidman's then this is a movie you definitely want to check out. Her acting in this film is incredible and she carries this movie about as far as the plot will go. Unfortunately we've been down this road before.

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