The premise of a guilt-ridden cop boozing his way through life until he can settle one last debt and go out in a blaze of glory doesn’t scream “original.” And Karyn Kusama’s version of this American tale, “Destroyer,” written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi, doesn’t stray too far from the tired tropes, except for the fact that the “he” is now a “she,” played by Nicole Kidman donning distractingly layered makeup and a wig that’s just trying too damned hard.
But despite the film’s needlessly fractured structure and a relentlessly grim story, Kidman and Kusama seem to be speaking the same language, in quieter moments illuminating not just the faults of the protagonist but also the faults of every tragic hard-boiled detective in cinematic history.
Detective Erin Bell (Kidman) can’t catch a break. She’s an authority figure lacking authority, a barely-living joke to colleagues and perps alike. She walks like a drunk in lead boots, face flowered with broken capillaries. Erin’s quickly dragged back to her past when an inked-up $100 bill shows up in her mail — a calling card from an old friend with some unsettled business.
Throughout the narrative, Erin’s history drips out in obtuse flashbacks, the kind of puzzle-piecing story that’s supposed to become a mystery, but which ends up instead as a frustrating mess of information that needn’t be withheld. What’s most successful in this film is its character studies, not its plot.
Kidman as Erin becomes a beat-up-clown punching bag for everyone she meets. For all the gravitas of her gravelly voice, it doesn’t fool those who know her best, particularly the bank-robbing gang she and her old partner-boyfriend Chris (Sebastian Stan) infiltrated way back. On her quest to track down ruthless gang leader Silas (Toby Kebbell), she reconnects with them one by one, with each shocked by her haggard appearance. But her meeting with the first man, Toby (James Jordan, “Wind River”), sets the tone for how things will go from here on out.
Toby’s got a month to live, but he’s content to let whatever info he’s got on Silas go with him to the grave unless Erin gives him a hand job. Erin dutifully performs it; what’s one more insult when you’re already a reanimated corpse? And yet, he asks for more: “Unbutton your shirt.” “Spit on it.” Erin’s compliance is a grumbled eye roll, and Kidman finds a blunt, anti-sentimental tone for her character in those moments that’s effectively numb. In another encounter with a person from the past, Erin’s literally pointing a gun at old pal Petra (Tatiana Maslany), and yet Petra has so little respect for or fear of Erin that she still punches Erin and fights her tooth and nail.
What sets Erin Bell apart from her male-detective cinematic counterparts is that she is utterly humorless, which is somehow both a misstep and a revelation in this film. Women in supporting roles in action or crime films rarely get a laugh line or a personality, and Kidman as a lead doesn’t buck that trend; Erin’s no clever Philip Marlowe. She’s instead an open, oozing wound, leaving her filth on anything and anyone she touches. Realistically, a human who’s been through the traumas of Erin’s life would react this way, which feels like an admonishment to the movies that have attempted to gloss over a character’s tragedy with jokes. And yet — I yearned for just an inkling of any humor.
Along the way in Erin’s journey back in time, Erin’s teenage daughter Shelby (Jade Pettyjohn, Nickelodeon’s “School of Rock”) tests her patience by marauding with her much-older boyfriend in dive bars and tauntingly kissing the man to further irk her mother. This is the most ludicrous element of the story; men writing rebellious teen girls rarely reveal any actual truths and often resort to the tired clichés of slutty girls disobeying mom and dad for the attention.
Along with Kidman’s performance, one of the more genuine elements of the film is its setting, a contemporary, perpetually sunny and dusty Los Angeles. Here, the sun seems equally menacing and tantalizing, either a beckoning to death or a sweet release, and Kusama and cinematographer Julie Kirkwood (“I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House”) artfully manipulate whether the natural light burns or soothes in each individual scene. This is a Los Angeles where Beverly Hills and the ocean don’t exist. All that exists are empty cemented basins where water and life should be flowing but aren’t.
To finish, it’s impossible to talk about “Destroyer” without talking about Kidman’s makeup and hair. It’s obvious the makeup team is going for “knocking on death’s door,” but the transformation is nearly comical, especially when we see in flashbacks that Erin was as buoyantly beautiful as Kidman in real life, with a stylishly timeless haircut just 15 years earlier.
Yes, a person may suffer from cirrhosis, but that liver disease doesn’t suddenly give them a Cathy-from-the-mall haircut. It’s a small but distracting thing when Kidman’s face is front and center on the screen for almost the entire duration of the film.
Kusama and team should have trusted that Kidman could make Erin’s health and wellness evident from her physical performance, which is rickety and slouchy in all the best ways.
50 Actresses Over 50 Who Still Rule Hollywood (Photos)
These strong women have aged gracefully — while still governing Hollywood.
The Australian Oscar winner has kept busy with blockbusters ("Aquaman"), award-winning indies ("Boy Erased") and TV hits like HBO's "Big Little Lies" and "The Undoing."
After starring in 2015's "Cinderella," this Oscar nominee reprised a different Disney role as the Red Queen in "Alice Through the Looking Glass." And then won acclaim on Netflix's "The Crown."
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Yuh-Jung Youn (birthdate: 06/19/47)
South Korean actress Yuh-Jung Youn has graced Korean screens for decades and recently brought her talents to the U.S. in "Minari," earning her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2021.
Aside from the fact that she's the only black woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress, she recently starred in "X-Men: Days of Future Past," "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum" and two movies in the "Kingsman" series.
An accomplished SAG and Emmy winner, Davis starred in ABC’s hit series "How to Get Away With Murder" and the two "Suicide Squad" movies (including a 2021 sequel). She also starred in the 2020 drama "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."
Following the enormous success of her breakout series "Sex and the City," Jessica Parker starred in a string of romantic comedies. She starred in HBO's comedy "Divorce."
The Oscar nominee has been busy, voicing the mother in Pixar's "Inside Out," playing Cleo Trumbo in "Trumbo," and Martha Kent in 2013's "Man of Steel" and 2016's "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice." She starred opposite Kevin Costner in 2020's "Let Him Go."
Since the '80s, Fox has made a name for herself in both film and TV, including appearances in Fox's "Empire," "Independence Day: Resurgence" and Lifetime's series of "Wrong" movies.
The Oscar-winning Tomei maintains a tireless work ethic, playing roles in "The Big Short," "Captain America: Civil War," and the Tom Holland "Spider-Man" movies.
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Queen Latifah (birthdate: 03/19/1970)
The rapper turned actress and producer stars in CBS' hit reboot of "The Equalizer."
Taraji broke out in "Baby Boy," and has garnered recognition for her roles in "Hustle and Flow" and 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." She most recently starred in "Hidden Figures" and rocked everybody's world as Cookie on "Empire."
After turning heads in "The Passion of the Christ" and two of the three "Matrix" films, the Italian actress returned to the silver screen as a Bond girl in 2015's "Spectre." And then starred as Italian photographer Tina Modotti in the miniseries "Radical Eye."
The actress broke out in the late-'90s series "Ally McBeal," then starred in films like "Charlie's Angels" and "Kill Bill." In 2019, she wrapped a long run playing Watson in CBS' Sherlock Holmes series "Elementary."
This three-time Oscar and Tony nominee is working hard, with big roles in shows like "Ozark," "Tales of the City" and Viggo Mortensen's film "Falling."
Octavia Spencer had her big break with her role in "The Help" in 2011 -- and she won an Oscar for it. Since, she's starred in "Fruitvale Station," "Hidden Figures," and "Ma."
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Ming-Na Wen (birthdate: 11/20/63)
In addition to being the enchanting voice of the heroine in Disney's "Mulan," Wen is known for her roles on "Stargate Universe," Disney+'s "The Mandalorian" and ABC's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."
Since her days as a "Friends" leading lady, Kudrow has been active in film and TV, playing characters in Netflix’s "BoJack Horseman," "Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising," the 2019 indie hit "Booksmart" and the Netflix comedy "Space Force."
The "As Good As It Gets" actress drew acclaim in 2012 for her role in Sundance favorite "The Sessions" and recently starred in the sitcom reboot "Mad About You."
Even after the end of ABC's "Ugly Betty" and the short-lived "666 Park Avenue," Williams has kept working with projects like "Daytime Divas" and Justin Simien's 2020 film "Bad Hair."
Whiledoing charity work for her anti-sex-trafficking foundation Thorn, Moore has returned to the screen in TV projects like "Empire," "Animals." and "Brave New World."
After appearing in "Elysium" and "Carnage," the Oscar-winning actress took a break from acting and returned to directing with 2016's "Money Monster" starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts and an episode of "Black Mirror." She then appeared in front of the camera in 2020's "Prisoner 760."
With a career that spans four decades, Jason Leigh earned an Oscar nomination for 2015's "The Hateful Eight," then starred in shows like "Twin Peaks," "Patrick Melrose" and "Atypical" as well as movies like 2020's "The Woman in the Window."
Despite the 2016 cancellation of her short-lived sitcom "Angel from Hell," Lynch has made strides in the past few years, hosting NBC's "Hollywood Game Night" and earning Emmy attention for "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel."
Having appeared in both mainstream and art-house films, Moore received acclaim for her Oscar-winning performance in "Still Alice." She followed with showy roles in 2020's "The Woman in the Window" and Julie Taymor's "The Glorias."
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Lorraine Toussaint (birthdate: 04/04/60)
Starting her career in theater before transitioning into film and TV, Toussaint has appeared in Ava DuVernay's "Selma" and the short-lived Fox series "Forever." She's also received praise for her work as Vee in Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black" and series like "Into the Badlands" and "The Village."
One of Hollywood and Britain's most accomplished performers, Thompson appeared in 2017's "Beauty and the Beast," Mindy Kaling's "Late Night" in 2019 and 2021's "Cruella."
An actress known for her roles in horror films and the 2003 comedy "Freaky Friday," Lee Curtis has lately appeared on screen in 2018's "Halloween" reboot and 2019's "Knives Out."
Though she's known primarily for her film roles, including her turn in Spike Lee's 2016 drama "Chi-Raq" and 2018's "Black Panther," Bassett is a TV regular, particularly in FX's anthology series "American Horror Story" and "9-1-1."
In addition to being a TV personality, a two-time Oscar host and an LGBTQ advocate, DeGeneres found time to reprise her role as the forgetful blue tang in Pixar's 2016 hit "Finding Dory," the sequel to 2003's "Finding Nemo."
The Georgia-born Oscar winner returned to film in 2012 after a seven-year hiatus, and has since had roles in "The Big Sick," "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice," and TV shows like "Here and Now" and "Succession."
Known for her early '90s roles in "Sex, Lies, & Videotape," "Groundhog Day," and "Four Weddings and a Funeral," MacDowell has appeared in recent films like "Only the Brave" and 2019's "Ready or Not."
The three-time Academy Award nominee appeared in 2015's acclaimed "Room" and ABC's mystery melodrama "The Family" as well as Apple TV+'s "Lisey's Story."
Russo, a Vogue model-turned-BAFTA nominated actress, juggled lots of roles in recent movies, including Marvel's "Thor," the neo-noir thriller "Nightcrawler" the Nancy Meyers comedy "The Intern" and 2019's "Velvet Buzzsaw."
The actress and producer has kept busy since ending her long-running daytime talk show, overseeing her OWN network and appearing in series like "Greenleaf" and movies such as "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" and "A Wrinkle in Time."
The Golden Globe and SAG-winning actress starred in the 2016 crime comedy caper "The Nice Guys" and had a big role in the last two "Fifty Shades" movies.
A well-known character actress, Steenburgen has appeared in several TV shows (Fox’s "The Last Man on Earth," Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black") and films ("Song One," "A Walk in the Woods"). She starred in the 2016 drama "The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" and 2018's "Book Club."
Since her breakthrough role in 1973’s “Live and Let Die,” Seymour has kept busy in projects like the 2016 spoof movie "Fifty Shades of Black" and the CW’s "Jane the Virgin."
One of the most recognized and active women working in Hollywood today, Streep is keeping her acclaimed acting streak alive. Recent projects include "The Post," "Little Women," Netflix's "The Prom" and HBO's "Big Little Lies."
The "Ghostbusters" alum has been in 12 movies since 2010, ranging from "Chappie" to "The Cabin in the Woods." She had a cameo in 2016's female-led remake of "Ghostbusters" and stars in James Cameron's upcoming "Avatar" sequels.
A multiple Oscar, Golden Globe, and SAG winner, Lange has been drawing acclaim since the '80s, especially for her performance in FX’s "American Horror Story."
Since her breakout debut in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather Part II," Coll has had recurring TV roles in shows like "Switched at Birth," "Glee" and "Teen Wolf." She starred as Alba Villanueva in the CW's "Jane the Virgin."
The "Fatal Attraction" star garnered praise and an Oscar nomination for 2017's "The Wife" and has clocked roles in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies as well as 2020's "Hillbilly Elegy."
The Oscar winner is another one of Hollywood's biggest and most active actresses, including memorable turns in recent movies like the "Red" and "Fast & Furious" series as well as shows like "Catherine the Great."
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Nicole Kidman joins Robin Wright, Viola Davis, and Laura Linney among the stars making waves on screen
These strong women have aged gracefully — while still governing Hollywood.