"Destroyer"

When I saw the trailer for this film, I thought it has got "my kind of film" written all over it. I was blown away by it, so it was inevitable that I would see this latest film for Oscar winning actress Nicole Kidman.

The film opens with Erin Bell in her car, not looking her best. She is an LAPD officer. Though you would not think it to look at her.
She visits a crime scene, a body has been found, and upon seeing a dye stained bank note, it is a message that someone from her past is back.
We then jump back about 17 years to when Erin and her Partner Chris are on an undercover assignment. They have worked their way into a group of nefarious characters, headed by Leader Silas.  Trust is created and they are part of the team, a team that is going to carry out a bank job.
The film jumps about between the two time periods. We see Erin and Chris getting close, and in the present day Erin a ghost of her former self, seemingly self destructive and dealing with a rebellious teen daughter. Certainly in present day she is spiralling out of control, and this is illustrated with a tour de force performance from Nicole Kidman.

Knowing that her past is catching up with her, Erin hopes to settle an old score and may be redeem herself. We get to know more about her relationship with Chris, what became of him, and the events that no doubt began her downfall.

It may not have helped that I fell asleep through this film, so maybe I was not giving my full 100% attention, but I was not as enthralled with the film as I was with the trailer. It is still a good film, dominated by a truly outstanding performance from, at times, an almost unrecognisable Kidman.

The Ladies are out in force with excellent Direction from Karyn Kusama and great Cinematography from Julie Kirkwood. But just as a whole film, I felt it was lacking something, or maybe it was my inability to stay awake,a second viewing may some day be in order.......7 out of 10