The Best 100 Performances of the 2000's - #5

5. Nicole Kidman as Anna in Birth (2004)

Cold? Yes. Stoic? Uh-huh. Slightly distant? Yup. Am I describing Nicole Kidman (or, the view some people have of her - not me) or Anna in Birth? The woman whose husband died and now he apparently is not. That's the beauty. It's as if Nicole knew what people say about her and channelled it all into this portrayal of a woman who is those exact things and more. With her hair tucked under a Mia-Farrow-esque wig and stuck inside a Kubrickian Eyes Wide Shut apartment (it's not surprise to learn that director Jonathan Glazer's idol is Kubrick) Nicole seems like the cold icy woman that people play her up to be. He stare looks menacing at times, as if being possessed.

That the film itself is a beautiful mindfuck also plays into it. Harris Savidas' camera work and especially Alexandre Desplat's music score only add to the macabre fairytale feel of it all. And Nicole is the icing on the cake. Her whisperish voice fits the role perfectly - a woman who has felt her husband with her all the time, so she speaks in hushed tones.

That the role got completely ignored except for a Golden Globe nomination is a travesty(although, the same could be said for everyone else in the top 5, unfortunately). I suppose it's one of those films that you either get or your don't. Nicole is just simply amazing as the haunted Anna. However, there was one bit that sealed the deal for me and it is a very deceptively simple moment. Anna arrives at the Opera and sits next to her new fiance. She looks up at the stage and the camera remains lingering on her face as it takes up the entire frame for 2 whole minutes without a single cut away. You can see Nicole working through so much without every saying a word and barely any movements. That's acting.

...to be continued...