jdbrecords: the hours

Sunday, November 11, 2012

kidman's oeuvre: a post by dan braun

It seemed to be just what they needed. A couple, grieving over the passing of their son in a tragic automobile accident, decide to take to their yacht on the Pacific Ocean in order to put behind them, at least for a time, their troubles. While on the water, they encounter a stranger with a story of alleged life-or-death survival and find their own safety at increasing risk.

Via Phillip Noyce's efficient 1989 thriller Dead Calm came the arrival on North American shores the Australian actress Nicole Kidman. With a stunning head of red hair, a natural beauty and a remarkable range as a performer, Kidman soon established herself as an always compelling force to be reckoned upon.

A repressed boarding school student. An Irish immigrant searching for a better life in 1893 Oklahoma. A TV personality and a particularly seductive temptress. An American heiress traveling through Europe looking to maintain her individuality. One half of a married couple caught within sexual repression and the darkest depths of their curiosities. Portraying Virginia Woolf in the final years of her troubled life. Across a remarkable set of roles, Nicole Kidman has consistently proven to be one of those rare actors one can't - and never wants to - take their eyes off of. Some of her most compelling performances:

As Rae Ingram in Dead Calm (1989; dir. Phillip Noyce)

As Nicola in Flirting (1991; dir. John Duigan)

As Shannon Christie in Far and Away (1992; dir. Ron Howard)

As Suzanne Stone Maretto in To Die For (1995; dir. Gus Van Sant)

As Isabel Archer in The Portrait of a Lady (1996; dir. Jane Campion)

As Alice Harford in Eyes Wide Shut (1999; dir. Stanley Kubrick)

As Satine in Moulin Rouge! (2001; dir. Baz Luhrmann)

As Grace Stewart in The Others (2001; dir. Alejandro Amenable)

As Virginia Woolf in The Hours (2002; dir. Stephen Daldry)

As Grace Margaret Mulligan in Dogville (2003; dir. Lars von Trier)

As Ada Monroe in Cold Mountain (2003; dir. Anthony Minghella)

As Anna in Birth (2004; dir. Jonathan Glazer)

As Silvia Monroe in The Interpreter (2005; dir. Sydney Pollock)

As Diane Arbus in Fur (2006; dir. Steven Shainberg)

As Margot in Margot at the Wedding (2007; dir. Noah Baumbach)

As Mecca in Rabbit Hole (2010; dir. John Cameron Mitchell)

As Charlotte Bless in The Paperboy (2012; dir. Lee Daniels)

-Dan Braun

Monday, August 6, 2012

final images

Last week I shared some of my favorite main title sequences. Here are some memorable moments from the other end of the spectrum: final shots. Check out more from The Final Image.

Sunset Boulevard