'DESTROYER' which I saw this week stars Nicole Kidman playing 110% against type in a much talked about role the likes of which we have never seen her play before, and, she delivers in spades. Directed by American film and television Director Karyn Kusama who's previous film making credits take in 2000's highly acclaimed debut 'Girlfight' and thereafter 'Aeon Flux', 'Jennifer's Body' and most recently in 2015 'The Invitation'. 'Destroyer' saw its World Premier screening at the Telluride Film Festival back in late August last year, saw its US release on Christmas Day, and now its gets a go in Australia last week. The film has garnered generally positive Reviews, has so far recouped just over US$5M of its US$9M production budget, and has received two award wins and another twelve nominations from around the circuit including a Golden Globe, a Satellite and an AACTA nod for Best Actress for Kidman.
As a young cop, Erin Bell (Nicole Kidman) went under cover with her former partner Chris (Sebastian Stan) to infiltrate a gang in the California desert with tragic life changing consequences. Bell continues to work as a detective for the Los Angeles Police Department, but feelings of bitterness and remorse leave her down trodden and overtaken by guilt. As the film opens we see Bell coming around from a night of sleeping rough in her car under a viaduct - woken by the nearby sound of skateboarders practising their jumps. She saunters in a half stupor to the crime scene to be greeted by two other Detectives looking over a dead body face down with three bullet hole exit wounds in its back. After a brief exchange of less that friendly words between Police Officers, Bell turns and walks away saying that she knows who the murderer is.Back at her Police station, Bell receives in the mail a $100 bill half marked in purple dye from an exploding dye pack. Using an old contact at the FBI who seemingly was responsible for sending her deep undercover almost twenty years ago, she is able to confirm that the $100 bill hails from an armed robbery by the Californian gang that she and Chris were embedded in back in the day. She advises her superiors that the bill and the dead body found earlier, are all the proof necessary that the gang's leader Silas (Toby Kebbel) is back on the scene, still active, and picking up where he left off.
In a number of flashbacks we see Bell and Chris develop a loving relationship towards each other. In time, Bell falls pregnant with Chris's child. Bell convinces Chris to become legitimate participants in a bank heist being planned by Silas. Bell's plans is too take their share of the money, report into their Police HQ that after time they lost contact with the gang, lay low for a few months and then resign the Police Force and live happily ever after.
However, come the day of the robbery and Silas changes the plan. Instead of having Bell and Chris as the two getaway drivers, Silas orders Arturo to take Chris' place and for Chris to join him inside the bank at the very scene of the crime. All goes reasonably well, until just outside the bank Silas is carrying a hold-all stashed full of cash which explodes suddenly covering him and the contents of his bag in a haze of purple dye. This pisses Silas off and he returns to the teller and shoots her dead at point blank range. Chris re-enters the bank revealing himself to be FBI and is promptly shot dead by Silas. Bell is distraught and drives off in a rage plunging her van headlong into a dumpster killing the other gang member travelling with her, who by now suspects her of being a Police Officer. Bell hides her share of the stolen cash to retrieve it later. She then returns to active Policing not disclosing her original plan of her share of the heist monies.
Back in the present day, we see Bell in a cafe with her sixteen year old daughter Shelby (Jade Pettyjohn) with whom she has a very strained relationship. Bell is attempting to make her peace with her estranged daughter who is in a relationship with a 23 year old guy whom Bell disapproves of vehemently, and whom we see attempting to pay off with a cash sum of US$11K to move to Spokane and never darken her daughters doors again . . . . ever, by phone, letter, social media, in person - never, ever!
Bell does make peace with her off the rails daughter in a round about way, saying that she is far better off with Ethan (Scoot McNairy) with whom Bell struck up a relationship after Chris died but that relationship too is now fractured although the pair are still on good terms. Shelby considers Ethan to be her father, seeing as though she never knew her real father, Chris. Bell and Shelby share a quiet moment together in a diner recounting a fond memory from when Shelby was seven years of age, after which Bell stands up, tells her daughter that she loves her, kisses her on the forehead, and leaves.Bell is then seen visiting a lock up storage facility where she aims to retrieve her share of the stolen money amounting to some US$300K and which she has not touched since the robbery. Her intention was to give the money to Ethan so that he can look after Shelby and give her the upbringing that she never could. However, upon opening the holdall bag in which is contained her stash of cash it is revealed that the majority of the bank notes are stained with the same purple dye.
She later receives a text message from Silas arranging a meeting at a viaduct, where she promptly shoots him three times at close range, so avenging the death of Chris. The next morning we see Bell sauntering up to the scene of the crime to be greeted by two Detectives looking over the murder victim. The slumped body is revealed to be the same body which Bell looked over at the start of the film bringing the story full circle. We then cut to Erin back in her car with those skateboarders practising their jump tricks. Up rocks her partner Antonio (Shamier Anderson), whom she hands an envelope to saying that all is self explanatory. In it she confesses to her sins giving Petra's location, the stained dollar bills, and a the key to her lock up. After Antonio leaves, we see Bell lift up her shirt revealing an extended stomach with severe bruising and internal bleeding sustained from several heavy beatings during the course of her investigations. She is finally at peace and resigned to her fate.I have to say that I quite enjoyed 'Destroyer' but not as much as I thought I would. On the positive side Nicole Kidman gives a transformative performance that is so left field of her usual character choices that she deserves all the kudos afforded her for her quite possibly most unrecognisable role to date. And, in that respect she certainly delivers as the once good cop turned bad cop now with a massive chip on her shoulder, a grudge to society and as the weather beaten down trodden chewed up spat out nothing to lose LA cop. And the plot weaves between the past and the present in a way that makes sense and helps you join the dots come the end. But, for all of that this is a fairly procedural cops and robbers genre piece that we have seen before, interspersed with some moments of gripping action, emotional turmoil and revelation. This is Kidman's movie make no mistake supported by a convincing Sebastian Stan, but as for the other characters of Silas and Ethan especially, these are undercooked. 'Destroyer' is certainly worth the price of your cinema ticket for Kidman's performance if nothing else.
'Destroyer' warrants three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard form a potential five.
-Steve, at Odeon Online-
