Great Film: Birthday Girl
offbeat, underplayed drama
Roughly one part crime drama to two parts offbeat love story, `Birthday
Girl' is a nifty little British film that gives Nicole Kidman a chance to
strut her stuff as an actress. Here she gets to play a Russian `mail
order
bride' (though, of course, in the modern world she is actually ordered off
the internet) who's come to England to start a new life with John, a
mild-mannered banker unsuccessful in the ways of love. John is one of
those
bland, utterly undistinguished `good guys' who everyone seems to like but
no
one seems to notice. Even his boss at the bank gives him one of those
noncommittal job evaluations (saying what a swell guy he is and what a
great
way he has with people) used to fob people off when they are not good
enough
to merit a raise or a more prestigious position in the corporation.
Forced
to go the unconventional route in finding himself a wife, John hooks up
with
the lovely but inscrutable Nadia, a Russian woman who, John is appalled to
learn, does not understand a word of English. Then just as John and Nadia
seem to be forming a close relationship (literally bonding over bondage),
complications arise when two of Nadia's bizarre `friends' from Russia
suddenly arrive on the scene.
To reveal more of the plot would be unfair to both the viewer and the
makers
of this film, since much of the movie's intrigue arises from the frequent
turnabouts in the plot itself. Although there is always the threat of
violence hammering at the film's edges, writers Tom and Jez Butterworth
(the
latter serving as the film's director as well), manage to keep the film
fairly havoc free while they focus on the developing relationship between
the two main characters. Kidman, who speaks nary a word of English in
the
first half of the film (and only with a heavy accent thereafter), does a
beautiful job conveying both the toughness and the vulnerability inherent
in
this woman. Though innately compassionate, Nadia has had to learn how to
survive in a brutal world - even if that means having to exploit naïve,
good-natured shmucks like John. As John, Ben Chaplin conveys just the
right mixture of shyness, befuddlement and ultimate self-assuredness to
make
us root for the character. Because of his Everyman characteristics, we
want
to see John triumph in the end.
`Birthday Girl' doesn't try to push the envelope by indulging in elaborate
action scenes or patently theatrical heroics. Its events seem to unravel
in
a spontaneous, naturalistic manner, which helps the film to remain
relatively true to life most of the time. It tells an unusual story, one
filled with wry humor, understated suspense and a compassionate
recognition
of human frailty. Well written and well acted, `Birthday Girl' is an
unheralded film that deserves to be seen.
Cast
- Sophia, Alias Nadia played by Nicole Kidman
- John played by Ben Chaplin
- Alexei played by Vincent Cassel
- Yuri played by Mathieu Kassovitz
- Clare (as Kate Evans) played by Kate Lynn Evans
- Bank Manager played by Stephen Mangan
- Robert Moseley (as Xander Armstrong) played by Alexander Armstrong
