Birthday Girl on DVD
Nicole Kidman is outstanding as a Russian girl who brings a lot
more to the table than her British mail order husband expected.
Shes Nadia, who had posted her vital information on the
Internet, hoping to snag a foreign husband and begin a new life in a new land.
Or thats how it appears to John (Ben Chaplin), a mild mannered bank clerk
looking for the girl of his dreams.
The movie is actually Johns story, from the time he
places his order and picks up Nadia at the airport. Much to his
chagrin, she speaks not a word of English and this communications gap is a
major obstacle to overcome. John begins to have major misgivings, but the woman
is just so attractive, so apparently sweet, and shes definitely eager to
please and to even help him act out his wildest fantasies.
Then two of her friends show up and the movie upshifts into a
caper/heist flick where Johns life is turned completely upside down and
he ends up as a fugitive from justice.
Birthday Girl is an interesting, if offbeat, film that features
excellent performances from Kidman (who puts on what appears to be a bang on
Russian accent) and Chaplin, as well as supporting Russkies Mathieu
Kassovitz and Vincent Cassel (who are actually French and also pull of
excellent Russian characterizations).
Its a tale that keeps the audience guessing what exactly is
going on for a good part of its 90 minute or so running time, and even when it
slows down (not that it rockets along at any time) theres enough going on
to keep you interested. And you really do care for what happens to John, so you
tend to root for him even when it looks like hes about to do something
really stupid.
You even end up rooting for Nadia despite the more
poisonous aspects of her character.
The DVD is pretty good, too. The anamorphic widescreen picture,
16x9 TV compatible, is bright and clean and looks very good. Audio, Dolby
Digital 5.1 surround is also very good, though there isnt much surround
in evidence. That isnt always a bad thing, though; much as we love a good
get you in the middle of it audio experience it isnt always
appropriate or necessary, and this is one of those times.
Extras include a Somethin Stupid music video and
an six minute behind the scenes feature thats pretty interesting (we
hadnt dreamed, for instance, that the film was made in Australia,
Kidmans presence notwithstanding). There are also some sneak peeks of
other Miramax flicks.
In all, a surprisingly intriguing film.
Birthday Girl, from Alliance Atlantis Home Video
90 min. anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1), 16x9 TV compatible, Dolby Digital
5.1 surround
Starring Nicole Kidman, Ben Chaplin, Mathieu Kassovitz, Vincent Cassel
Produced by Eric Abraham, Steve Butterworth, Diana Phillips
Written by Jez Butterworth and Tom Butterworth, Directed by Jez Butterworth
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