Over the years we’ve seen a lot of great female detective roles, Vera comes to mind. And yet we still hear talk about what would happen if we placed a female actor in a traditionally male role and let it play out. Destoyer does that, with Nicole Kidman.
Destroyer tells the story of young cop, Erin Bell (Nicole Kidman) and partner Chris (Sebastian Stan). In their youth they went under cover to infiltrate a gang in the California desert. Things didn’t go to plan, well naturally.
Bell continues to work as a detective for the Los Angeles Police Department, but feelings of anger and remorse leave her worn-down and consumed by guilt. When the leader of that gang suddenly re-emerges, Erin embarks on an obsessive quest to find his former associates, bring him to justice and make peace with her tortured past.
What’s interesting about this movie is the way the story is told, but you don’t know that until the very end, which is unfortunate for those who walked out early. The approach can also make it difficult to work out who’s who, especially when so many of the male actors have the same look.
Stan does a convincing job of undercover Chris, especially during an excellent shoot out, which is well worth staying for.
But it is Kidman’s transformation that everyone is talking about. It is always difficult to suspend belief with such a well known actress, and I found it particularly hard in this instance. With a monotone voice and a fringed wig hiding her forehead, Kidman’s eyes had to tell the story. Considering this I found it unnerving that this clearly disheveled woman had such sparkling healthy clear blue eyes. In some scenes, particularly those shot in the desert, they stood out like iridescent contact lenses. Bell’s posture was also jarring at times, so masculine they may have well cast a male lead.
So can we take a female actor and place them in a traditionally male crime role, absolutely, but does the actor have to remove all of her female traits, and appear pseudo-male to do so? This experience would suggest not.
Go for the shoot out and the ending.
For session times go to Luna Cinemas
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