DESTROYER is unlike any film star Nicole Kidman has ever done. In the gritty crime drama, she transforms — physically and emotionally — into a broken, alcoholic, LAPD detective named Erin Bell. As a young cop, Bell did an undercover stint with drug dealers that ended with tragic results. When the leader of the gang re-emerges many years later, Bell must reckon with the people and demons that ruined her life.

AMC caught the premiere of DESTROYER at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September. At first glance, the film seems to borrow from HEAT and END OF WATCH, leaning heavily into commonly used flashbacks to tell the story; however, DESTROYER has what many others in the genre don’t: a strong female at the helm, as well as behind the lens (director Karyn Kusama).

DESTROYER solidifies Kidman as an Oscar® contender in the Best Actress race. (She’s already secured the Golden Globe nomination.) With incredible makeup and prosthetics, Kidman disappears into the role of Bell, but her connection to the character goes deeper than the surface. “I’m carrying the weight of this person in me,” Kidman said in an interview with Access. “It orbits around me, and it definitely penetrates me on a cellular level.”

Kidman was “desperate” to take on the role, her most intense since Virginia Woolf in THE HOURS (2002). Bell is the epitome of an antihero. In many ways, she destroys those around her, including her child and, most of all, herself. We, and the rest of the TIFF audience, were often left wondering whether to root for or against her, a testament to Kidman’s powerful performance.

“As an actor, we’re all looking for things that are complicated and rich and deep, but still in a great story,” Kidman said. “To have this sort of female in this thriller-noir genre is just a fantastic opportunity.”

Don’t miss Kidman in DESTROYER at AMC. Get your tickets today.

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