David Meek
02-10-2002, 12:05 AM
The Birthday Girl
Stars Ben Chaplin as John, Nicole Kidman as Nadia, and is directed by Jez Butterworth.
Rated: R for sexuality and language. There's some minor violence, too.
Premise: Sometimes, especially with people, what you get isn't what you were expecting.
A bit of plot: John is a nerdish, lonely English bank teller that sends away for a Russian mail-order bride. After she arrives speaking no English, chain smoking and throwing up on the way home from the airport John tries desperately to send her back but to no avail. More? Nadia worms (pun intended) her way into his arms, bed and subsequently his feelings. Suddenly, things take a turn for the unexpected (and absolutely worse) as two very unsavory "friends" of Nadia's show up and make themselves right at home, much to John's growing dismay.
I saw this different little film this evening with my wife and her sister. We were sitting in an almost-empty theater for a Saturday 5:30 PM showing. If this is the overall trend, this one won't be in the theater for more than a few days. It's a fun off-the-beaten-path little story with a lot of potential that when it finished left me with a feeling of "Was that it? I want more." The story keeps pulling you along - getting you a little closer to its characters and their responses to some nasty pitfalls. At the start, I had some difficulty caring about or feeling anything for Mr. Chaplin's or Ms. Kidman's characters. Not being able to speak Russian, I can't tell you if Ms. Kidman's Russian is good, bad or indifferent, but she portrays a Russian woman fairly convincingly. This role adds another bit of depth to an already expanding envelope for her. Mr. Chaplin's character for some reason reminds me of a more serious version of Mr. Bean, but with the attendant quirkiness and uh, reading materials. As the story progresses, it manages to pull you into John's mundane, boring life as it suddenly and unexpectedly starts to get away from him - waaaay away from him! It takes a while longer, but eventually Nadia works her way ever so slightly under your skin and you begin to empathize with her in some ways. The sympathy building continues until the story skids to an abrupt halt, leaving the afore-mentioned "was that it?" feeling.
The filming is straight-forward with nothing to call any attention to it - either positively or negatively. The surround channels are used only minimally and the Russian language portions are sub-titled.
Summing it up: If you're in the mood for some "fun" of a different kind or if you are a dedicated Nicole Kidman fan, it's definitely worth a matinee viewing, but not a full-ticket evening out. It should go on your "rent list" once it's out on DVD because it is worth a look. Both my wife and her sister said they enjoyed it for the characters, the quirky humor present in spots and the unusual story.
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 the best, I rate The Birthday Girl a 6.
David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater" (http://www.htguide.com/bilder/index.cfm?fuseaction=arkivbilder&userid=0&selecteduserid=18)
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker (http://www.dvdtracker.com/custom_report.asp?ReportID=2980)
Stars Ben Chaplin as John, Nicole Kidman as Nadia, and is directed by Jez Butterworth.
Rated: R for sexuality and language. There's some minor violence, too.
Premise: Sometimes, especially with people, what you get isn't what you were expecting.
A bit of plot: John is a nerdish, lonely English bank teller that sends away for a Russian mail-order bride. After she arrives speaking no English, chain smoking and throwing up on the way home from the airport John tries desperately to send her back but to no avail. More? Nadia worms (pun intended) her way into his arms, bed and subsequently his feelings. Suddenly, things take a turn for the unexpected (and absolutely worse) as two very unsavory "friends" of Nadia's show up and make themselves right at home, much to John's growing dismay.
I saw this different little film this evening with my wife and her sister. We were sitting in an almost-empty theater for a Saturday 5:30 PM showing. If this is the overall trend, this one won't be in the theater for more than a few days. It's a fun off-the-beaten-path little story with a lot of potential that when it finished left me with a feeling of "Was that it? I want more." The story keeps pulling you along - getting you a little closer to its characters and their responses to some nasty pitfalls. At the start, I had some difficulty caring about or feeling anything for Mr. Chaplin's or Ms. Kidman's characters. Not being able to speak Russian, I can't tell you if Ms. Kidman's Russian is good, bad or indifferent, but she portrays a Russian woman fairly convincingly. This role adds another bit of depth to an already expanding envelope for her. Mr. Chaplin's character for some reason reminds me of a more serious version of Mr. Bean, but with the attendant quirkiness and uh, reading materials. As the story progresses, it manages to pull you into John's mundane, boring life as it suddenly and unexpectedly starts to get away from him - waaaay away from him! It takes a while longer, but eventually Nadia works her way ever so slightly under your skin and you begin to empathize with her in some ways. The sympathy building continues until the story skids to an abrupt halt, leaving the afore-mentioned "was that it?" feeling.
The filming is straight-forward with nothing to call any attention to it - either positively or negatively. The surround channels are used only minimally and the Russian language portions are sub-titled.
Summing it up: If you're in the mood for some "fun" of a different kind or if you are a dedicated Nicole Kidman fan, it's definitely worth a matinee viewing, but not a full-ticket evening out. It should go on your "rent list" once it's out on DVD because it is worth a look. Both my wife and her sister said they enjoyed it for the characters, the quirky humor present in spots and the unusual story.
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 the best, I rate The Birthday Girl a 6.
David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater" (http://www.htguide.com/bilder/index.cfm?fuseaction=arkivbilder&userid=0&selecteduserid=18)
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker (http://www.dvdtracker.com/custom_report.asp?ReportID=2980)