Destroyer Review

Myla Tosatto

Nicole Kidman sans make up sporting a 70’s style shag hairdo is an interesting Nicole Kidman. If it doesn’t entertain you, at the very least it screams OSCAR BAIT!   To say she is hardened in the movie Destroyer is an understatement. She isn’t just hard. She is HARD. With three movies out this holiday season (see also Boy Erased and Aquaman), this is by far her grittiest (and most likely to get noticed by the Academy).

Destroyer is a both a hard boiled crime drama and a personal redemption story. While Kidman’s Erin Bell is investigating a murder she is also reminiscing about the alleged killer and her life up until that point. Through flashbacks we see Erin go undercover with Chris (Sebastian Stan) to infiltrate a cult-like crime ring led by Silas (Toby Kebbell). Silas may or may not be the killer she is searching for now. It’s tricky because the story weaves in and out and Erin isn’t always the most reliable narrator. The film is, however, very compelling and watchable.

For the love of Keith Urban, leave your kids at home for this one. There’s a lot of violence and some sexual stuff; all of it terribly gratuitous. It’s a tense movie about bad choices. Your kids aren’t going to like it but your Oscar loving friends will!

Now playing in theaters!