Birthday Girl - R\nStarring: Nicole Kidman, Ben Chaplin\nDirected by: Jez Butterworth\nShowing: Showplace East 11\nThe beginning of writer/director Jez Butterworth's "Birthday Girl" finds John Buckingham (Ben Chaplin of "The Thin Red Line"), a small town English banker, frustrated and bored with the same old routine -- somewhat desperate for someone to share his life with. So he decides to go for the gold in a move he describes as "quite brave," and sends for a Russian bride via the Internet. The girl, Nadia (Nicole Kidman), arrives from Moscow looking like a cross between a wounded animal and a modern-day siren. Nadia cannot speak a word of English, but it becomes readily apparent that she has a very firm grasp on body language. \nSo firm a grasp, in fact, that within her first day in John's house, she has discovered and brought to life the most intimate of John's sexual fantasies. It's a bit astonishing to see an English banker first order a wife from Russia and then engage in kinky sex with her right off the bat, but the unabashed frankness of the film is one of its greatest appeals. It explores the idea of "normal," and looks at the secrets that lay hidden in your average suburbanite. "Birthday Girl" retains its class in that it's not particularly graphic, but you certainly get the idea. \nJust as Nadia and John are getting the hang of being an awkward but growing couple, Nadia's birthday arrives, and along with it, two friends from Russia. Her cousin Yuri (Mathieu Kassovitz) and his friend Alexei (Vincent Cassel) stay in their house until John, sensing an unexplained tension between Alexei and Nadia, kicks them out. This backfires, Alexei threatens to kill Nadia, and John robs the bank he has worked at for 10 years in an effort to save her. This sequence in the movie is priceless and provides one of the more satirical looks at the corporate world. \n"Birthday Girl" is decidedly candid and savage, but it also leaves the viewer with the hopeful aftertaste of new beginnings. Chaplin and Kidman are gorgeous as lovers and brilliant as characters. Kidman plays the melancholy heroine as only she can, and Chaplin gives us honest insight into the desires and intellect of the "ordinary" man. Kassovitz and Cassel, who are friends in real life, also spice up the movie with moments of genuine camaraderie among criminals. \nDespite the somewhat predictable plot, the dialogue is stunning -- ranging from darkly hilarious to quietly touching -- and the twists, turns and touching moments are enough to keep the viewer engaged throughout the entire movie. Overall, it's another extraordinary black comedy from the one of the many wicked minds at the forefront of British film. \n
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