Film
Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in New York, plus articles, trailers and more
- Home
- Box Office
- Listings
- Trailers
- Features
Bookmark this page- Edition:
Birthday Girl (2001)
Director: Jez Butterworth
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
When John (Chaplin), a St Albans bank clerk, decides to end his solitude by selecting a website mail order bride, he's not sure what to expect. Certainly it's not Nadia (Kidman), a raggedy chain-smoking beauty with no English - a contractual shortfall that persuades him to return her to Russia pronto. Easier said than done, when her undeniable sexual skills make him finally feel alive. Maybe it might work out after all? As he dithers, John's feelings deepen. But then Nadia's rowdy cousin (Kassovitz) and his pal (Cassel) turn up unannounced and - to John - unwelcome. Butterworth follows Mojo with a mostly enjoyable, if uneven mix of romantic comedy and thriller. We know where we'll end up, of course, and probably suspect that en route we may see a worm turn, but there are more than enough diverting twists on the journey to quicken the pulse. Chaplin is a bit of a hindrance, but the Frenchmen make surprisingly scary Russians, while Kidman is convincing and charismatic. Be it wish-fulfilment fantasy, cautionary tale or both, Birthday Girl never aims at or attains depth, but as unpretentious, spritely suspense comedy, it certainly succeeds.Author: GA
Cast & crew
Director: Jez Butterworth
Producer: Steve Butterworth, Diana Phillips
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Ben Chaplin, Vincent Cassel, Mathieu Kassovitz, Kate Evans, Stephen Mangan, Xander Armstrong, Sally Phillips full cast
Duration: 93 mins
Most popular on this site
Features
To the letter
Forty years later, Costa-Gavras's Z still brims with fury.
Mind over matter
David Cronenberg reflects on a most bizarre body: his own corpus of work.
Fool's gold
Can an Oscar win lead to a cursed career? Here are five stories of postaward professional meltdowns.
We are the championed
Terrorists and teens abound in this year's "Film Comment Selects."
A history of violence
Matteo Garrone's kaleidoscopic Gomorrah wallops you with Italy's crime crisis.
True romantic
James Gray exchanges urban amorality for amour in Two Lovers.
Playing in the dark
MoMA salutes pianist Stuart Oderman's 50 years as the one-man sound of silents.
Junk bonds
Cast and crew recall the making of the classic NYC drug drama The Panic in Needle Park.
What do you think?
Post your review now