No one tried to win an Oscar, and none tried for the best performances of their lives in Birthday Girl, starring Nicole Kidman. And that is okay.
It’s a nice change from movies that are meant to be deep and artistic pieces that leave viewers stunned and changed, and which, in the end, often leave them merely disappointed.
The clever film is both written and directed by Jez Butterworth, a British playwright.
Birthday Girl is entertaining and funny, which is a great change from some of the two-and-a-half-hour-plus must-see dramas.
Only 90 minutes long, Birthday Girl is a perfect week night flick or as an “appetizer” to some weekend activities.
Nicole Kidman plays Nadia, a Russian mail-order bride brought to England by an ordinary bank employee named John Buckingham, played by Ben Chaplin (The Thin Red Line).
John’s problem is that he works too hard and has no time to find someone who is compatible with him. He also does not want to take a chance on the girl next door, so he goes instead for an unknown woman.
When Nadia arrives, she is unable to speak a word of English — unbeknownst to Ben. She is only capable of a timid “yes” to anything he says. Ben, appalled that he cannot communicate with his new bride, tries to contact the service many times. They never return his calls, though, so he is stuck with Nadia.
He tries to tell her that the marriage is not going to work, but she does not understand. Her only real way of communicating with him is through sex.
Ben winds up falling for Nadia, though, and even ends up wearing the wedding band she brought him.
The happy couple can’t keep their hands off each other, and they try many different things that spark their interests.
Everything seems to be going perfectly, until Nadia’s two supposed cousins show up at Ben’s house. Then the movie turns from a sexy love story to a black comedy, with many twists and turns.
Kidman really shines in this movie with her novel, dark hair and Russian accent.
Chaplin, with his huge eyes and innocent look really adds an element of comedy to the movie, along with Kidman’s quirky outfits and obsessive smoking habits.
The plot moves along quite quickly, with never a boring moment.
