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Birthday Girl
Birthday Girl
Actors: Nicole Kidman, Ben Chaplin, Vincent Cassel, Mathieu Kassovitz, Kate Lynn Evans
Genres: Action & Adventure, Indie & Art House, Comedy, Drama, Mystery & Suspense
R     2002     1hr 33min

The irresistible Nicole Kidman (MOULIN ROUGE, THE OTHERS) powers a sexy thriller where appearances can be deceiving and nothing ends as expected! A lonely and repressed bank employee, John Buckingham (Ben Chaplin, THE THIN...  more »
     
     

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Movie Details

Actors: Nicole Kidman, Ben Chaplin, Vincent Cassel, Mathieu Kassovitz, Kate Lynn Evans
Genres: Action & Adventure, Indie & Art House, Comedy, Drama, Mystery & Suspense
Sub-Genres: Action & Adventure, Indie & Art House, British, Drama, Mystery & Suspense
Studio: Miramax
Format: DVD - Color,Widescreen,Anamorphic - Closed-captioned
DVD Release Date: 08/13/2002
Original Release Date: 02/01/2002
Theatrical Release Date: 02/01/2002
Release Year: 2002
Run Time: 1hr 33min
Screens: Color,Widescreen,Anamorphic
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Total Copies: 1
Members Wishing: 0
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Languages: English

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Member Movie Reviews

Sharon F. (Shar) from AVON PARK, FL
Reviewed on 5/6/2022...
Not a bad movie, but not a good one either. Imagine Nicole Kidman with a bad Russian accent and dark hair...that kind of highlights the movie.
1 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Movie Reviews

The Candles Wont Burn For Long
Eric Anderson | London, United Kingdom | 11/23/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)

"This off-beat British comedy directed by Jez Butterworth is a story of melancholy middle class bank teller, Ben Chaplin, who longs for a bit of companionship. As with so many modern men of today, he resorts to the internet and stumbles upon a website for mail-order Russian brides. Here he finds Nadia, Nicole Kidman, whom he orders only to find she is not what he expected. The building comedy turns quickly into a thrilling story of a betrayed man on the run. Yet, this film remains consistently light in its tone despite the dark subjects of abuse and unwanted pregnancy it could allow to overwhelm it.These well-known and respected actors do a fantastic job in their performances especially the Frenchmen Vincent Cassel & Mathieu Kassovitz and popular red-head Nicole Kidman, none of whom spoke Russian before this film and all do a convincing job of it. Not only that, but the language barrier draws out numerous quirky expressions from the actors showing their real talent. The film is beautifully shot, alternately filmed in the UK and Australia, with captivating scenes in the forest where the characters work out their plight. Ultimately, not a tremendously memorable film, but one that is skilfully designed and keeps some good laughs. What's enduring is the more realistic human aspect it contains and would probably lack if it were an American romantic-comedy. Surely it won't be a blockbuster as one might expect from its stars, but it is plenty of fun."
Happy "Birthday?" Maybe next year.
D. Litton | Wilmington, NC | 02/07/2002
(2 out of 5 stars)

"Part drama, part thriller, part comedy, "Birthday Girl" offers little in the way of laughs or suspense, while at the same time moving its characters from one crazy machination to the next without giving us much of a reason to care where they go, what they do, or if they end up together when it all comes to an end. The light at the end of the tunnel comes from Nicole Kidman and Ben Chaplin, their performances making an otherwise ludicrous film watchable. Chaplin stars as John, a lonely Englishman who busies himself searching a Russian mail-order bride website for his perfect match. Herein lies the movie's primary (and continuous) mistake: why does he feel the need to send for someone he knows nothing about, save for an intro video from the internet? At one point, we hear John in a narration likening his tactics to an everyday first acquaintance in the supermarket, a shoddy attempt at the hands of the writer to mask the lack of characterization. A slight glimmer of hope arrives with Nadia (Kidman), a very kittenish Russian woman who chain-smokes and whose knowledge of the English language consists of the word "yes." At first, John sees her as a mistake, but later he comes home one afternoon to find her going through his private collection of bondage magazines, and it's off to bed for the two strangers. The story hook (if you can classify it as such) comes when two men claiming to have a past friendship with Nadia show up at John's doorstep on the day of her birthday. Agreeing to let them stay, John soon finds himself in awkward situations, leading him to formally dismiss them from his home. The next day, one of them goes mad, threatens Nadia's life, forcing John to walk into his bank and steal a large sum of money before they all leave town in his run-down car. Of course (surprise, surprise), Nadia is not really her name, and she's affiliated with the two strange men, working with them in scamming various men in an identical fashion, all occurring on her birthday (or maybe even that's a lie they use on each victim). As if this were a grand revelation (not only is it predictable, but the movie's preview trailer leaves little hidden), the sequence of events that follow only drag the movie into an abyss of endless boredom, with a mere chuckle here and there for good measure. It's not so much the story that causes the problem; the beginning shows promise, especially through the performances of its two leads. As John, Chaplin is awkward and almost always in a daze of confusion, and there is a great deal of levity in his endless self-induced calamities. Kidman, hot off the set of last year's "Moulin Rouge" and "The Others," shows her versatility by playing the femme fatale in a most mystifying and quiescent manner. But even these two fine actors cannot bring to light the mysteries surrounding their characters. And no, I'm not referring to the mystery the movie sets forth as to who Nadia really is; what I'm talking about is a look at their motivations, their inner drives, what makes them do the things they do. Why does Nadia scam men out of money? Why does John feel he has to help this woman after he finds out she is pregnant (even though it's not his child)? In essence, the story of "Birthday Girl" is a lot like opening your a birthday gift which turns out to be a big package of socks. You put a smile on your face, hoping the next present will be something you've anticipated, and it is a mere package of underwear. I spent the whole time waiting for something to happen that would spark the film to life, but alas, the moments of humor and slight intensity are few and far between. Happy Birthday? Maybe next year."
Strange story but well told
Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 08/21/2002
(3 out of 5 stars)

"Whatever may be wrong with this film (and there are things that just simply don't work, including the somewhat claustrophbic camera work) the end result is a tantalizingly strange tale with very strong acting on the parts of Nicole Kidman and Ben Chaplin. Kidman may be close to Meryl Streep in her ability to absorb dialects, other languages, and accents. It is refreshing to see actors of this caliber take on a film that they probably knew wasn't going to be a box office hit, but just wanted the challenge of the script, the director, and the roles. Worthwhile."