Themes: Arranged Marriages, Cons and Scams, Haunted By the Past
Main Cast: Nicole Kidman, Ben Chaplin, Vincent Cassel, Mathieu Kassovitz, Kate Evans
Release Year: 2001
Country: UK/AU
Run Time: 93 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A man looking for love gets more than he bargained for when he chooses his prospective wife on the internet in this dark comedy. The manager of a bank in a small British community (Ben Chaplin) decides that he's in need of long-term companionship, and through an on-line marriage broker called From Russia With Love, he obtains a "mail order" bride (Nicole Kidman). While he's more than pleased that his new fiancée is so beautiful, she turns out to have a dangerous and mysterious side that he wasn't counting on, and things become quite complicated when two of her cousins (Vincent Cassel and Mathieu Kassovitz) arrive from Russia and move into his tiny house in St. Albans. Though set in England, Birthday Girl was actually shot in Australia, which allowed leading lady Nicole Kidman to stay in touch with her then- husband, Tom Cruise, who was shooting Mission: Impossible II in Australia at the same time. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
This long-on-the-shelf feature finally earned a release slot thanks to the stellar performance of two other Nicole Kidman star vehicles, Moulin Rouge (2001) and The Others (2001). That's usually an indication of serious problems with the finished product, and indeed the sophomore film from playwright Jez Butterworth feels like a heavily edited, chopped-up affair, as if it has been repeatedly mauled by censors, studio executives, or some other authoritative figure lacking confidence in its quirky tone. Birthday Girl (2002) is not a disaster, however. At heart it's a dark romantic comedy and often a fairly solid one to boot; it simply verges too many times into thriller territory, deviating too much from its sense of self. Becoming increasingly absurd and pinwheeling back and forth between a delightfully larcenous loopiness and unwelcome attempts at evoking real menace, the film stumbles badly in its second half until wrapping up with a botch of an act three that moves the characters woodenly and without much purpose from point A to point B (the woods, then the airport, then a hotel conveniently nearby, then back to the airport). The writers simply haven't taken the time to spin their splendid little premise and characters someplace truly interesting. Either that, or those dreaded test audience responses (where do they get these people?) have dictated a reshot finale that is a dumbed-down bore. Kidman continues to be a revelation, even in a film that will likely be seen as a footnote to her banner year as an actress. There's much to like in the setup of Butterworth's film, but its payoff is too slim and he's working from a script (co-written with his brother Tom Butterworth) that hasn't yet figured out what sort of film it really is. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Rebecca Clarke - Bank Collegue; Sue Maund - Woman With Lost Hat; Alan Stocks - Passport official; Ben Miller - Concierge; Sally Phillips - Karen; Jonathan Aris - D.I. O'Fetiger; Jack Pierce - Bank Collegue; Jo McInnes - Waitress; Xander Armstrong - Robert Moseley; Katya Barton-Chapple - Young Sophia; Mark Gatiss - Tim; Raj Ghatak - Bank Collegue; Stephen Mangan - Bank Manager; David Mark - Bank Collegue; Steve Pemberton - Duty Sergeant; Reece Shearsmith - Porter; J.J. Toba - Policeman 2
Credit
Diaan Wajon - Art Director, Rebecca Holmes - Art Director, Malcolm Rose - Boom Operator, Jina Jay - Casting, Jina Jay Casting - Casting, Nick Ingman - Conductor, Phoebe Degaye - Costume Designer, Jez Butterworth - Director, Piers Thompson - Director, Simon Hinkly - Second Unit Director, Adrian Toynton - Second Unit Director, Christopher Newman - Second Unit Director, Tanya Jackson Vaughn - Second Unit Director, Christopher Tellefsen - Editor, Sydney Pollack - Executive Producer, Paul Webster - Executive Producer, Julie Goldstein - Executive Producer, Colin Leventhal - Executive Producer, Allon Reich - Executive Producer, Rick Schwartz - Executive Producer, Noriko Watanabe - Hair Styles, Erica Wells - Hair Styles, Jeremy Johns - Location Manager, Carl Wood - Location Manager, Donna Grey - Line Producer, Vicki Popplewell - Line Producer, Stephen Warbeck - Composer (Music Score), Bob Last - Musical Direction/Supervision, Viv Mepham - Makeup, Noriko Watanabe - Makeup, Robbie Austin - Makeup, Adel Dunno - Makeup, Ashley Johnson - Makeup, Carro Knott - Makeup, Deb Lanser - Makeup, Trish Newton - Makeup, Simone Wajon - Makeup, Paul Williams - Makeup, Robert Agganis - Camera Operator, Hugo Luczyc-Wyhowski - Production Designer, Oliver Stapleton - Cinematographer, Peter J. Robertson - Cinematographer, Bernard Bellew - Production Manager, Caroline Bonham - Production Manager, Diana Phillips - Producer, Eric Abraham - Producer, Steve Butterworth - Producer, Garth Marshall - Production Sound, John Bateman - Recording, Arabella Lockhart - Set Designer, Verity Roberts - Set Designer, Linda Wilson - Set Designer, Pride Studios - Special Effects, Peter Miles - Stunts, Sy Hollands - Stunts, Andy Bennett - Stunts, Ray De Haan - Stunts, Levan Doran - Stunts, Dominic Freece - Stunts, Jamie Millington - Stunts, Analie Whitfield - Stunts, Guy Norris - Stunts Coordinator, Nicholas Powell - Stunts Coordinator, Graham Longhurst - Special Effects Supervisor, Joel Beckett - Unit Production Manager, Brad Roberts - Unit Production Manager, Jez Butterworth - Screenwriter, Tom Butterworth - Screenwriter, Peter J. Robertson - Second Unit Director Of Photography, McDonald & Rutter - Publicist, Charles McDonald - Publicist, Derek Lomas - Special Effects Editor, Maria Farmer - Unit Publicist, Claudia Kalindjian - Unit Publicist, Jim Henson's Creature Shop - CGI Effects, Michael Turoff - CGI Effects, Nick Drew - CGI Effects, Val Wardlow - CGI Effects, Elizabeth Himelstein - Dialogue Coach, Randy Spendlove - Executive Music Producer, Larry Prinz - Gaffer, Johnstone Paul - Gaffer, Robbie Birtles - Grip, Geoff Boyce - Grip, Toby Churchill-Brown - Grip, Leo Cowan - Grip, Michael Leslie - Grip, Beau Savastos - Grip, Mark Abrahams - Key Grip, Andrew Glen - Music Editor, Gerard McCann - Music Editor, Martin V. Wade Robertson - Musical Performer, John Paricelli - Musical Performer, Igor Outkin - Musical Performer, Bibs Ekkel - Musical Performer, Anthony Pleeth - Musical Performer, Steve Watts - Musical Performer, Steve Donnelly - Musical Performer, Martin France - Musical Performer, Paul Clarvis - Musical Performer, Serena Gattuso - Production Coordinator, Fran Triefus - Production Coordinator, Gary Jones - Properties Master, Mike Power - Properties Master, Katie Sharrock - Properties Master, Woodlands Dental Lab - Prosthetic Makeup Effects, Robin O'Donoghue - Re-Recording Mixer, Richard Street - Re-Recording Mixer, Lisa Vick - Script Supervisor, Peter J. Robertson - Steadicam Operator, Martin Lee - Steadicam Operator, Robert Agganis - Steadicam Operator, Liam Daniel - Still Photographer, Eddy Joseph - Supervising Sound Editor, Ian Fuller - Supervising Sound Editor, Eddie Joesph - Supervising Sound Editor, David Lucarelli - ADR Mixer, Arnaud Clerici - ADR Mixer, Martin Foley - Art Department Assistant, Verena Khan - Art Department Assistant, Emmanuel Kostoglou - Art Department Assistant, Rosie Hardwick - Assistant Art Director, Julia Castle - Assistant Art Director, Richard Fordham - Assistant Sound Editor, Ian MacBeth - Assistant Sound Editor, Steve Mayer - Assistant Sound Editor, Arabella Lockhart - Buyer, Robyn Elliott - Costumes Supervisor, Allison Wyldeck - Costumes Supervisor, Phil Alton - Dialogue Editor, Nick Lowe - Dialogue Editor, Margaret Watson - Electrician, Ting Adisug - Electrician, Greg Allen - Electrician, Mat Bolin - Electrician, Jo Bruneteau - Electrician, Matt Clyde - Electrician, Finbar Collins - Electrician, Brett Cooper - Electrician, Johhny Earthmover - Electrician, Peter Eastgate - Electrician, Russel Fewtrell - Electrician, Peter Harris - Electrician, Clif Henry - Electrician, Peter Holland - Electrician, Adam Hunter - Electrician, Matt Inglis - Electrician, Glen Jenkins - Electrician, Miles Jones - Electrician, Zac Murphy - Electrician, Mark Newman - Electrician, Gary Padget - Electrician, Kenny Pitts - Electrician, Clive Ripon - Electrician, Grant Wilson - Electrician, Colin Wyatt - Electrician, Al York - Electrician, Geoff Brown - Electrician, Lucy Fawcett - Foley Artist, Pauline Griffiths - Foley Artist, Jack Elliot - Greensman, Julie Clement - Post Production Accountant, Matt Dalton - Post Production Accountant, Dan Palmer - Post Production Accountant, Jim Hajicosta - Production Accountant, Stephen Barker - Production Controller, James Wilson - Production Executive, Allon Reich - Production Executive, Rick Schwartz - Production Executive, Steven Sallybanks - Scenic Artist, Helen Matttocks - Set Dresser, Adam Brockbank - Storyboard Artist, Julian Calde - Storyboard Artist, Glyn Dillon - Storyboard Artist, Tony James Chance - Storyboard Artist, Jim Henson's Creature Shop - Visual Effects, Nick Drew - Visual Effects, Val Wardlow - Visual Effects, Louis Elman - Voice Casting, Beth Pickworth - Graphic Design, General Screen Enterprises - Title Design
John Buckingham (Ben Chaplin), a lonely St Albans bank clerk, orders a mail-order bride Nadia (Nicole Kidman) from Russia on the Internet. John is uncomfortable and shy, but Nadia is sexually bold and John can't believe his good luck. Though Nadia cannot speak English and John cannot speak Russian, they soon bond. Later on, a man she introduces as her cousin Yuri (Mathieu Kassovitz) and his friend Alexei (Vincent Cassel) turn up to celebrate her birthday. Alexei soon shows that he has a temper. After a violent altercation, Alexei holds Nadia hostage and demands a ransom from John. John has grown to care for Nadia, and is forced to steal from his bank where he has worked for ten years. After the ransom is paid, he realises that he has been the victim of an elaborate con trick. Nadia, Yuri and Alexei are criminals, and Alexei is actually Nadia's boyfriend.
John learns that the trio have carried out the same scam on men from Switzerland and Germany, among others. They take him prisoner, strip him down to his underpants, and tie him to a toilet in a motel. He eventually manages to free himself, and quickly learns that Nadia has been left behind after Alexei discovered she was pregnant. John gets dressed, and subsequently gets into a scrap with Nadia, who later reveals that even "[her] name is not Nadia".
John takes Nadia to turn in to the police - hoping to clear his name as a wanted bank robber. Ultimately, however, he sympathises for her, and decides against it. He leaves her at the airport, where she is kidnapped by Alexei – who now wants to have the baby. John rescues her, tying Alexei to a chair. They make common cause against the two Russian men. Nadia informs John that her real name is Sophia. Disguised as Alexei, John and Sophia leave for Russia.
The film was a generally moderate commercial success, with a budget of $13 million it grossed $16,171,098.[1]
It has a 58% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating a neutral-positive critical reception[2]. Jason Solomon of The Observer praised the casting "Cassel, Kassovitz and Kidman are beautifully graceful against the backdrop of signs to Tring and Newbury." He continued "The comedy here is gentle, formed of linguistic misunderstandings and cultural clashes and Chaplin's constant efforts to be polite are rather charming. Kidman's exoticism, encapsulated by her peasant-chic wardrobe, is fresh air in St Albans."[3] The BBC reviewer gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, praised Chaplin's and Kidman's "infectious performances" and describe it as a "sparky" and "deviant topical comedy which is funny from start to finish."[4]CNN praised Kidman's "astounding range" and applauded the dialogue as "often sharp, scathingly witty, and displays a wry intelligence."[5]
The New York Times described the film as "competent" but decried the plot as too "insubstantial".[6]
