Birthday Girl (2002)

 Western promises
In many ways this black comedy is Nicole Kidman's best movie. She is just wonderful as Nadia, a Russian mail order girlfriend ordered up by Ben Chapin, a very quiet, but controlling English bank clerk. Nicole dresses like a hooker, smokes like a chimney, can't speak a word of English but understands why he has brought her to England. She is sexually aggressive and quickly finds out Ben's character's pervey taste in sex.

Things come to a head on Nadia's birthday when Vincent Cassell shows up and nothing is what it seems. Great cast, good plot and satisfying ending. March 17, 2008

 Extremely Awkward
This movie was really awkward throughout. I don't know what else to say about it as the premise is obvious. It's not really extremely thrilling, but more like I said an extremely awkward movie. No one got killed really but, you'll want to avert you're eyes often during this movie, at the awkward mail order relationship. December 1, 2007

 Amazing actors can't save this train wreck.
Birthday Girl starring Ben Chaplin and Nicole Kidman starts off as an appealing, strange love story but the film loses its edge 30 minutes in. Kidman is superb as always and Chaplin always gives a quiet, realistic perfomance but even their apparent talents can't spark a weak story. I could see the twist coming a mile away and there's nothing else worth talking about. Birthday Girl is anything but a blaze of glory. Skip it. October 16, 2007

 Funnily absurd though maybe wise
A small funny film. It is totally incredible, unbelievable, impossible. But it is funny how an introverted masochist can become totally dependent and mesmerized, even hypnotized by a girl he hardly knows but who was able to get down into his phantasms. Of course it is a denunciation of the foolish deals you can get to on the Internet. You must not believe ten percent of what you're told there and never, ever, ever accept to tie up your hands in a way or another to someone or something or some organization you do not know personally. Most of their "businesses" there are in a way or another going to fool you and raid you. But here the chap deserves being the victim of such gangsters because he is not only naïve, he is absurdly silly. But then the film becomes funny because it ends up with the victim of the crooked business having the upper hand and ending up playing the same game with his victimizer and winning. One think is sure too. Security in English airports is not exactly what it should be, but I guess it's not better anywhere else in the world and even now they have tightened up all rules and regulations it is just fun to go through their procedures and foil them systematically. Then they have their vengeance by losing your luggage, a real plague on modern airports, and don't expect to get fair compensation. Or even confiscating a bottle opener or a can opener because it may be dangerous. I can see myself cutting my way through the side of the plane with a can opener. Funny, isn't it?

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
September 10, 2007

 Mediocre
Even with Nicole Kidman starring in this movie, it was not her best film. I found the story a bit ridiculous. It seemed to be a low-budget film as well. Pass up on this one. August 19, 2007

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