NICOLE KIDMAN

by Nate Lee 
 

BEST FILM:

Moulin Rouge...

You can freeze-frame “The Hours” and still not recognize her in her brilliant portrayal of Virginia Woolf. Still, more than just guys prefer the masterful cinematography and advancement in the art of the movie musical – and the flipside view of life from Woolf – and the performances of Kidman and McGregor that make “Moulin Rouge” so fascinating. In fact, “Cold Mountain” comes in second.  

BLOCKBUSTERS:

Nine (Daniel Day Lewis muse)

Australia (English aristocrat turned Australian cowgirl)

The Golden Compass (the villain)

Moulin Rouge (Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe-winning performance as a cabaret performer and courtesan)

Cold Mountain (Golden Globe-nominated performance as a woman trying to make it on her own during the Civil War)

Batman Forever

The Peacemaker

Eyes Wide Shut

GREAT PERFORMANCES YOU MAY NOT HAVE SEEN:

To Die For (Golden Globe-winning performance as a woman “bent” on fame)

The Others (Golden Globe-nominated performance as a haunted woman)

The Hours (Oscar and Golden Globe-winning performance as Virginia Woolf)

Birth (Golden Globe-nominated performance as a widow who believes her husband has been reincarnated)

Flirting (girl at a boarding school in Australia)

Billy Bathgate (Golden Globe-nominated performance as a gangster’s moll)

Far and Away (opposite Tom Cruise)

Margot at the Wedding (opposite Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jack Black)

The Interpreter (UN interpreter, opposite Sean Penn)

Bewitched (Samantha, opposite Will Ferrell)

Fur (Diane Arbus) 

THE REAL NICOLE:

Bewitched ...

What? A story about a talented performer unfairly blocked by an insecure star and who eventually proves her mettle out of his shadow. Who could that be about? 

ACTING STYLE:

Vivien Leigh. Nobody can quite envelop the transcendent feminine fragility and siren-song elusive sexiness like Nicole. Living up to her last name, she plays the tease like nobody’s business and makes us love her for it.  

BITS AND QUIRKS:

Good at accents though she has to fight a strangely thin speaking voice. Posing, mostly because she often plays at acting or plays actors. The ultra straight back. The flicks of the magnificent hair. The evil eye, especially with the smile.

IF YOU LIKE HER, YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T LIKE:

Days of Thunder

Malice

Batman Forever

The Stepford Wives

The Invasion 

 GREAT SCENES:

MOULIN ROUGE - All of the cabaret numbers >> “Come What May” duet with Ewan McGregor > “Diamonds” cabaret number

BEWITCHED - Revealing her true identity to Ferrell > The conversations with her father, Michael Caine > The magical tricks, particularly making a fool of Ferrell

THE INTERPRETER - Overhearing the plot in the U.N. building > Almost run down by the bad guys > Kidnapping a supposed dictator

COLD MOUNTAIN - Her helpless scenes, opposite Renee Zellweger > Love scenes with Jude Law

THE HOURS - The suicide > Eye to eye with the dead bird > Talking death with her niece > The argument on the train platform with her husband about London versus Richmond  

 

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