MRMOVIESETC
REVIEWS:
“Destroyer” (2018)
"I know what it's like to grow up bad, jealous, hungry, scared. I didn't want that for you."
You know, if I had to pick just one favorite recurring
line that has been used numerous times in the entire history of cinema, I think
it’d have to be the classic “ENTERNAMEHERE is back”. I mean, I don’t know about
you, but nothing else quite makes my ears perk up than when I feel like I’m
about to be vaguely introduced in a chilly, quivering voice from a protagonist
or side character to some unknown badass that makes time stop everything
he/she/it is in the room. Sometimes they do not even have to be in the room,
but can still haunt based solely on reputation or the threat of action. No
matter which way it ends up going, usually the trick works really well, and
while “Destroyer” approaches it differently than most that I have seen
recently, it leans towards the latter of the two.
Truthfully, I hesitate to get into the story of “Destroyer”
much at all in this review, because it has the type of narrative structure that
basically equates to two-hours-worth of baiting. It is established almost
immediately that something big and terrible - actually that plus a lot of
little things - has already happened, and the film is going to spend most of
its time gradually uncovering what those things were mostly in the present time,
so it can properly build up to the Big Finish. Granted, that’s not anything new
in storytelling, but, as they say, “If it ain’t broke…”
Officer Erin Bell (Nicole Kidman) is inwardly (and
outwardly) a hardened cop with alcohol consumption issues, to put it lightly,
whom arrives on the scene of a murder already being handled by some of her
colleagues. Clearly sleep-deprived, they tell her the scene is under control
and that they don’t need her there. Insisting to examine the corpse anyway,
Erin notices a piece of evidence next to the body – a one-hundred dollar bill
splattered with purple ink. While she never reveals anything about it to the
other on-duty cops at the scene, it is made clear to the audience that this
holds personal significance to Erin before she leaves to go back to the office.
Upon arriving at her desk, a postage envelope is there
waiting for her holding similar cash that also has the purple ink. This is the
where the aforementioned “too well. Now, back in the present, Erin must follow the trail of
her past so that she can get to Silas first before he can cause all sorts of
trouble for her and her family.
is back” reference comes in when Erin reports the
taunt to an FBI confidant and tells him that Silas (Toby Kebbell) has returned
and has quite possibly marked her as a target. Over sixteen years prior to that
moment, the film shows a younger Erin and her partner, Chris (Sebastian Stan),
preparing to infiltrate Silas’ gang of drug dealers and bank robbers.
Flashbacks show that the partners meld into the group successfully, and perhaps
a little
Obviously, there’s a shit ton more going on here, but I’ll
leave it at that.
Sigh – it may finally be time for me to admit that I kind
of, maybe, sort of, possibly, probably, and/or reluctantly like Nicole Kidman
as an actress now. I am extremely unapologetic when it comes to absolutely not liking much, if any, of her earlier work. Try as I might, I can never
seem to nail it down to anything more than how I think she came off as really fake
and pretentious in her constant quest for award nominations. She does still
seem to pick those kinds of roles these days, although something about her effort
seems far more genuine now. “Destroyer” may very well be one of the most
demanding roles she’s had in recent memory, and considering that this film is
all about her character, she positively kills it. There’s no other real
description that fits. She transforms Erin Bell into a relatable, yet totally
no-bullshit mother and police officer that has long since thrown caution into
the wind and will do what she must to make things right, even if that goal is
seemingly impossible.
This is definitely a film that gives the impression that
it’s going to be wickedly gritty and violent, and while it does have those
things, it was surprisingly quiet and introspective most of the time. I would
have been more than okay if Director Karyn Kusama had decided to make this a
90s throwback and have Erin go full guns-a-blazin’, yet I’m kind of glad it had
more realistic roots than that. A plot as morally grey as this one, or, Hell,
let’s just call it black, needs more substance than style for what it is trying
to accomplish, and I think Kusama did that and then some.
“Destroyer” also has some remarkably good pacing for a
film that continues the recent Hollywood trend of non-linear storytelling. It’s
become such a gimmick anymore that most filmmakers and editors don’t bother to
put much care into the craft, but with this one, there is the right amount of
back-and-forth between past and present to make for a truly heartfelt climax.
For a film that’s not really trying to dazzle in any way except for compelling
character drama, it makes the two hour slow(ish)burn worth the trek.
I do wish a couple of the subplots in this film involving
Erin’s family and current police partner had been given better closure,
especially considering how much emphasis was put on them along the way. I also
would have liked to have seen Silas end up being more interesting than he
really was, but I guess for both complaints, not having them be too prominent
was kind of the point. The story isn’t about them; it’s about Erin’s trials and
triumphs, and how these side characters happen to be connected to her physical
and psychological scars. That being said, the slightest bit of enhancement to
either one of those would have made the ending payoff that much better for the
time spent getting there.
Sorry to be more vague than usual on this one. Some films
demand the full experience, and “Destroyer” is certainly one of those. It’s too
bad Annapurna didn’t, or couldn’t, push this project out to the masses on a
bigger scale, because this is easily one of the better suspenseful dramas of
2018. If nothing else, it’s definitely worth the watch to see Kidman take the
shape of a person almost unrecognizable to the rest of her filmography.
You should give this one a shot. It’s currently streaming
on Hulu.
“Destroyer”: 8.5/10
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