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Birthday Girl [DVD] [2002]
 
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Birthday Girl [DVD] [2002]

DVD ~ Nicole Kidman
3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)

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Birthday Girl [DVD] [2002]
87% buy the item featured on this page:
Birthday Girl [DVD] [2002] 3.9 out of 5 stars (14)
Birthday Girl [DVD] [2001]
10% buy
Birthday Girl [DVD] [2001] 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
£4.68
Alexander: Revisited - The Final Cut [Blu-ray] [2005] [US Import] [2004]
3% buy
Alexander: Revisited - The Final Cut [Blu-ray] [2005] [US Import] [2004] 3.8 out of 5 stars (5)
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Product details

  • Actors: Nicole Kidman, Vincent Cassel, Ben Chaplin, Mathieu Kassovitz, Kate Lynn Evans
  • Directors: Jez Butterworth
  • Writers: Jez Butterworth, Tom Butterworth
  • Producers: Colin Leventhal, Diana Phillips, Donna Grey, Julie Goldstein, Paul Webster
  • Format: PAL
  • Language English, Russian
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: Cinema Club
  • DVD Release Date: 8 Mar 2004
  • Run Time: 89 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00005AFMR
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 35,770 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Special Features
English
Region 2


Synopsis
At a London airport, shy bank clerk John (Ben Chaplin) watches passengers arriving from an international flight. He's waiting for his mail order bride to arrive from Russia. When she finally appears, she's not exactly what John had in mind--tall, thin, and gangly, with scruffy hair and rings around her eyes, Nadia (Nicole Kidman) seems worn, apprehensive, and tired. As he drives her home, John discovers she can't speak a word of English, but she does smoke prodigiously. He makes repeated calls to the agency that arranged the marriage, leaving messages that a mistake has been made. But although Nadia doesn't know any English, John soon discovers that she knows all about sex. He changes his mind about sending her back.
The opening of director Jez Butterworth's BIRTHDAY GIRL is amusing and raunchy. But the film takes off in another direction when, on Nadia's birthday, two boisterous Russians (exuberantly played by French actors Vincent Cassel and Matthieu Kassovitz) arrive and take over John's home. The clever, twisting narrative that follows is, by turns, surprising, funny, and suspenseful. Chaplin's thoughtful performance counterbalances Kidman's troubled volatile heroine, who is not who she seems to be.

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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:
 (7)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant, 6 Mar 2003
By A Customer
Although I don't hesitate in saying this film is brilliant - I do think that it will only suit certain tastes. Do you like the strange comedy of Black Books? Do you mind your comedy being mixed in with serious drama? Nicole Kidman is in fine form in this strange, off-beat tale about three russian con artists who manage to trick the leading man into robbing a bank. The actual heist is very well done, and there is a cameo from one of the 'Smack the pony' actresses that is certain to bring on the laughs. That said, there are far darker elements to this story. The screen boyfriend of Nicole for example - when he's losing it and starting to threaten people, it is all the more worrying because he speaks Russian, and we are only given subtitles. We feel that we are shut out, much as the leading character of the film is.

To say that this is a laugh a minute, laugh out loud comedy would be wrong. To say that it is a well thought out, thought provoking story that leaves you feeling better about life, would be more along the right track. Once again Kidman proves that she is a wonderful actress, and here she is not let down by the rest of the cast, who also do a good job.

If you like your comedy to be intelligent, then this is the one to get.

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Sexy, scary, funny, 4 Nov 2003
By A Customer
It all starts off as a gentle laugh - the mail-order Russian bride who doesn't speak English, and the comic worries of being a desparate bank clerk. Ho hum, looks like a BBC sitcom, humorous but not really all that funny.

I was lured into the comfort zone, just as the Director wanted - when it all turned dangerous, I was just as surprised (and scared) as he wanted me to be. I felt just as betrayed as the lead character himself, and I must say I didn't feel much like forgiving Nicole Kidman once she needed help later in the film. All I can say is that this was exquisitely acted, with Nicole Kidman sexy as usual as a Russian trojan horse.

This is what Channel4 films are all about - it's not Hollywood, it's not Shakespeare, and it's certainly not predictable. It's just different - and that's the point.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Average, 17 Jul 2005
By A Customer
This film tells enjoyable, reasonably engaging story that is laced with wit and dark undertones, but it really doesn't amount to anything more challenging than that.

The actors play their mellow roles perfectly capably, and manage to keep the audience fairly interested but once again there's really nothing outstanding about them.

A pleasant watch for a lazy evening, but I can't really reccomend buying the film unless you really want to see the all-too-breif cameos from the league of gentlemen.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars meh
It's a simple word, but it sums up how I feel about this film. Meh.

It had no lasting effect, I barely made it to the end and if I'm honest, the performances were... Read more
Published 5 days ago by Larewen Evenstar

4.0 out of 5 stars What a surprise!
i'll be honest, i bought this along with a batch of nicole kidman films as i was going through an obsessed stage at the time but i had always put off watching this. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Ms. F. I. Macdonald

4.0 out of 5 stars Beware§ Russian girls are suspicious
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... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Jacques COULARDEAU

5.0 out of 5 stars most amusing
... if you like this kind of film then you'll like this - sounds silly but if you didn't like Wimbledon for instance don't bother with this. Read more
Published on 9 May 2007 by M. O. HAYNES

4.0 out of 5 stars good fun, and Kidman is excellent
This film is a lot of fun. John (Ben Chaplin) sends for a mail order bride, a Russian, Nadia (Nicole Kidman who, trouper as she is, speaks Russian frequently, rapidly and totally... Read more
Published on 23 Jan 2007 by Mr. Ian A. Macfarlane

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth watching
I'd actually give this film three and a half stars. The performances are very good and the plot is anything but predictable. Read more
Published on 6 May 2006 by fivestarfrankie

2.0 out of 5 stars Mail order dysfunction
The only reason to watch BIRTHDAY GIRL is to gaze upon Nicole Kidman, if indeed that pushes your joy buzzer. Read more
Published on 28 Feb 2006 by Joseph Haschka

5.0 out of 5 stars Kidman shines in this refreshingly different, fantastic film
Birthday Girl is an extraordinary film - and yet more proof that Nicole Kidman is the greatest actress of our generation (at least until Jodie Foster makes a comeback). Read more
Published on 23 April 2005 by Daniel Jolley

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't expect a sweet movie here!
Don't let the cover or title fool you. Birthday Girl is actually a drama, not a comedy. It is a fine drama at that too. Read more
Published on 21 Mar 2004 by William

4.0 out of 5 stars The Candles Wont Burn For Long
This off-beat British comedy directed by Jez Butterworth is a story of melancholy middle class bank teller, Ben Chaplin, who longs for a bit of companionship. Read more
Published on 10 April 2003 by Eric Anderson

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