Destroyer
Nicole Kidman plays a police detective, broken and battle-hardened, who attempts to reconnect with the members of a gang she infiltrated as a young undercover cop—a past that continues to haunt her. From director Karyn Kusama, reuniting with the writers of 2015's The Invitation.
- Director:
- Karyn Kusama ('The Invitation', 'Jennifer's Body')
- Writer:
- Phil HayMatt Manfredi
- Cast:
- Nicole KidmanToby KebbellTatiana MaslanySebastian StanScoot McNairyBradley Whitford
Reviews & comments
Flicks, Matt Glasby
flicksStar power can be a dangerous, delicate thing, as director Karyn Kusama (The Invitation) proves in this knotty cop thriller. On the one hand, subverting Nicole Kidman’s glamourous profile adds a bitter edge to every scene. On the other, it wipes everyone else out of the movie.
Variety
pressKidman has always been a chameleon, but in this case, she doesn’t merely change her color; she disappears into an entirely new skin, rearranging her insides to fit the character’s tough hide.
The Guardian
pressIt's a mechanical noir dressed up as something more substantial and this is especially felt in an ending that drowns in unearned profundity.
Screen Daily
pressKidman brings such compelling conviction to her role as a tormented detective that she single handedly imbues the film with urgency and authenticity.
New Zealand Herald
pressLost in the shuffle of award season comes a police procedural so hard-boiled it could break your teeth.
NPR
pressRarely are women cast in these roles of screwed-up, hard-boiled antiheroes with a lifetime of regrets to make up for, and even if this is your basic LA noir, it's well-executed and satisfying in all the ways it should be.
Los Angeles Times
pressThe grim relentlessness with which "Destroyer" seesaws between time frames - as if to make sure that no state of abjection, past or present, goes unexplored - wore me out long before the endlessly protracted finish.
IndieWire
pressThe movie takes its time to provide a satisfying rationale, occasionally suffering from a sluggish pace and sleepy atmosphere that lessens the underlying mystery...
Hollywood Reporter
pressUltimately feels affected in its aspirations toward making some profound statement about self-abasement and sacrifice, making one feel like rejecting the whole thing despite some striking individual moments.
Flicks, Matt Glasby
flicksStar power can be a dangerous, delicate thing, as director Karyn Kusama (The Invitation) proves in this knotty cop thriller. On the one hand, subverting Nicole Kidman’s glamourous profile adds a bitter edge to every scene. On the other, it wipes everyone else out of the movie.
Variety
pressKidman has always been a chameleon, but in this case, she doesn’t merely change her color; she disappears into an entirely new skin, rearranging her insides to fit the character’s tough hide.
The Guardian
pressIt's a mechanical noir dressed up as something more substantial and this is especially felt in an ending that drowns in unearned profundity.
Screen Daily
pressKidman brings such compelling conviction to her role as a tormented detective that she single handedly imbues the film with urgency and authenticity.
New Zealand Herald
pressLost in the shuffle of award season comes a police procedural so hard-boiled it could break your teeth.
NPR
pressRarely are women cast in these roles of screwed-up, hard-boiled antiheroes with a lifetime of regrets to make up for, and even if this is your basic LA noir, it's well-executed and satisfying in all the ways it should be.
Los Angeles Times
pressThe grim relentlessness with which "Destroyer" seesaws between time frames - as if to make sure that no state of abjection, past or present, goes unexplored - wore me out long before the endlessly protracted finish.
IndieWire
pressThe movie takes its time to provide a satisfying rationale, occasionally suffering from a sluggish pace and sleepy atmosphere that lessens the underlying mystery...
Hollywood Reporter
pressUltimately feels affected in its aspirations toward making some profound statement about self-abasement and sacrifice, making one feel like rejecting the whole thing despite some striking individual moments.
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