Destroyer

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Tatiana Masany, Sebastian Stan, Scoot McNairy, Bradley Whitford, Toby Huss, James Jordan
Directed by: Karyn Kusama
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Drama
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A detective (Nicole Kidman) begins searching out people from a past undercover assignment as she seeks revenge.

Review:

Tim: There's a lot to like about Karyn Kusama's Destroyer. It's a movie that I appreciated watching and acknowledge it has many strengths. On the other hand, it does too often feel like a minor effort that doesn't have the staying power the great films have. When you add it all up, the movie does more right than wrong and it's a movie I would certainly recommend, as long as you go into it with the right expectations. As I watch well over 100 movies a year, there's a lot that I kind of regret seeing. That's the case here- despite its flaws, Destroyer is worth your time.

You have to start any review by highlighting the performance of Nicole Kidman. I oftentimes forget how talented Kidman is, which is unfair and unjustified. Over the years, she's built a stunning volume of work, much of it that flies under the radar. The issue is that she often gives strong performances that are the best thing about the movie. It's more seldom that the movie around her lives up to her performance. That's slightly the case here. Kidman is stunning in a stripped down role. Her character is broken and battered and continues to move forward through sheer strength of will. It's remarkable what she does with his character, especially since the movie calls on her to play a completely different version of the character through flashbacks. We see the pre- and post- brokenness of this character and it's amazing to see the range Kidman has. The makeup certainly helps her inhabit this character, but this is one of the strongest performances I've seen Kidman give.

The supporting cast is effective, too. Sebastian Stan gives a memorable performance. He might not have a ton of screen time, but he makes every minute count. I really enjoyed seeing Scoot McNairy here, even though he didn't have a lot to do. Bradley Whitford shined in his one big scene, although to be honest, his performance strayed into over-the-top territory. Toby Kebbell was fine, I'm not a big fan of his, but he didn't do anything egregious here. He worked okay.

It's hard to characterize exactly what this movie is. In some ways, it's a pretty straightforward detective/crime story. However, it also plays around with a nonlinear format. The flashbacks certainly fill in pieces of the puzzle and are used effectively throughout the film. This gives the movie another layer of complexity. There's a pretty massive twist toward the end that most won't see coming (I didn't). It's interesting because on the one hand, I was quite impressed with this twist and how it would help to rewatch the whole movie now that we had the final piece of the puzzle. On the other hand, I'm not sure how shocking it actually was. It's more of a "Oh wow, that's cool- I'm impressed they pulled that off!" I certainly didn't feel compelled to watch the movie again (although I suppose it would be somewhat fun to do that). In the end, you have to give this film credit for trying something different, for telling a unique story.

Destroyer is absolutely a good movie, although it does have some flaws. At 2 hours, 1 minute, it feels a good 10-12 minutes too long. It gets a bit soggy in the middle. I can't say I felt much of an emotional connection with any of the characters. They were intriguing, but I didn't actually care about them. The end of the film has the previously mentioned cool twist and it gives you something to think about, but the emotional punch just isn't there. There was certainly room to improve this film.

That being said, I'm a firm believer that you have to celebrate successes and Destroyer is a success. It does a few things different than the expectations of the genre would suggest and it tells an entertaining story. This movie is a success.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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