Birthday Girl
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJez Butterworth
Written by
  • Tom Butterworth
  • Jez Butterworth
Produced by
  • Steve Butterworth
  • Diana Phillips
Starring
CinematographyOliver Stapleton
Edited byChristopher Tellefsen
Music byStephen Warbeck
Production
companies
Distributed by
  • Miramax Films (United States)
  • FilmFour Distributors (United Kingdom)
Release dates
  • 6 September 2001 (2001-09-06) (Venice)
  • 1 February 2002 (2002-02-01) (United States)
  • 28 June 2002 (2002-06-28) (United Kingdom)
Running time
93 minutes
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States[1]
Languages
  • English
  • Russian
Budget$13 million[2]
Box office$16.2 million[3]

Birthday Girl is a 2001 erotic comedy thriller film directed by Jez Butterworth. The plot focuses on English bank clerk John Buckingham, who orders a Russian mail-order bride, Nadia. It becomes clear upon her arrival that Nadia cannot speak English, and early into her stay, two mysterious men come to the house claiming to be her cousin and cousin's friend. The film features Nicole Kidman, Ben Chaplin, Mathieu Kassovitz, and Vincent Cassel. English and Russian are spoken interchangeably in the film.

Plot

John Buckingham, an introverted, lonely St Albans bank clerk, orders a mail-order bride Nadia from Russia on the Internet. John is uncomfortable and shy, but Nadia is sexually bold.

Although Nadia cannot speak English and John cannot speak Russian, they soon bond. Later on, a man she introduces as her cousin Yuri and his friend Alexei turn up to celebrate her birthday. Alexei soon shows that he has a temper.

After a violent altercation, Alexei holds Nadia hostage and demands a ransom from John. As he has grown to care for Nadia, he is forced to steal from the bank where he has worked for ten years. After the ransom is paid, he realises that he has been the victim of an elaborate con. Nadia, Yuri, and Alexei are criminals, and Alexei is actually Nadia's boyfriend.

The trio have carried out the same scam on men from Switzerland, Greece and Germany. They take John prisoner, strip him down to his underpants, and tie him to a toilet in a motel. He eventually frees himself and quickly learns that Nadia has been left behind after Alexei discovered she was pregnant. John gets dressed and subsequently fights with her, who later reveals that she can indeed speak English and that her name is not Nadia.

John takes Nadia to turn her in to the police, hoping to clear his name as a wanted bank robber. Ultimately however, he sympathises with her and decides against it. He leaves her at the airport, where she is kidnapped by Alexei, who now wants Nadia to have the baby. John rescues her, tying Alexei to a chair. They work together against the two Russian men. Nadia tells John that her real name is Sophia. John, disguised as Alexei, leaves for Russia with her.

Cast

Release

Box office

The film grossed $16,171,098.[3]

Critical reception

It has a 59% approval on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 5.72/10, indicating a mixed critical reception. The website's critics consensus reads, "Kidman shows her range in this quirky movie, but the shift in tone from romantic comedy to thriller may leave viewers unsatisfied."[4]

Jason Solomon of The Observer praised the casting "Cassel, Kassovitz and Kidman are beautifully graceful against the backdrop of signs to Tring and Newbury." He continued "The comedy here is gentle, formed of linguistic misunderstandings and cultural clashes and Chaplin's constant efforts to be polite are rather charming. Kidman's exoticism, encapsulated by her peasant-chic wardrobe, is fresh air in St Albans."[5]

BBC reviewer Matt Arnoldi gave the film four out of five stars, praised Chaplin's and Kidman's "infectious performances", and described it as a "sparky" and "deviant topical comedy which is funny from start to finish."[6]

CNN praised Kidman's "astounding range" and applauded the dialogue as "often sharp, scathingly witty, and displays a wry intelligence."[7]

The New York Times described the film as "competent" but decried the plot as too "insubstantial".[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Birthday Girl (2002)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2 March 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  2. ↑ "Birthday Girl (2002)". The Numbers. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  3. 1 2 Birthday Girl (2002) Box Office Mojo
  4. ↑ Birthday Girl (2002) Archived 17 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 13 December 2023
  5. ↑ A very British coup The Observer. 30 June 2002
  6. ↑ Film review - Birthday Girl BBC. 20 June 2002
  7. ↑ Review: 'Birthday Girl' another Kidman gift Archived 9 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine CNN. 31 January 2002
  8. ↑ Birthday Girl (2001) FILM REVIEW; Shy Neat-Freak With Kinky Leanings? Sounds Like the Perfect Victim New York Times. 1 February 2002
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