Nicole Kidman Tribute: Rabbit Hole (2010)

by Cláudio Alves

For a while, I thought that loss would lead to tears, a general sadness that consumes you whole and leaves behind a husk. Much art and media made it seem so to my adolescent self. The piteous melodrama that the mainstream loves to sell was a convincing lie, and so were the beatific visions of bereavement from which a person learns and grows stronger. But life doesn't obey narrative rules, nor does it seek to satisfy in the ways a Hollywood producer might. The tears do come - and they did - but there was more to it. More that wasn't aligned with ideas of beautiful suffering or an education of the soul. When I found grief, I found anger, too.

Why must it hurt so much? Why must it isolate so strongly? Why does it seem like no one understands? Why must joy prevail in the world? It's obscene, it feels wrong, and it stokes the fires of fury inside. Yet, there's no clear target for the flame. You find yourself full of emotion, wanting to wield it like a weapon and hurt something, anything, maybe yourself, or maybe nothing at all. There is no reason in grief and nowhere to go from there. Often, one finds no path out or through, no answers whatsoever. In this solipsism, recognition may lead the way. If not in the company of others, then in the mirror of the screen – in works like that of Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole…

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Nicole Kidman Tribute: The Hours (2002)

by Cláudio Alves

Nicole Kidman's career moves in cyclical repetitions, always coming back to the Australian star having to prove herself and then re-emerge with a revitalized surge of prestige and popularity. It happened back home, when Kidman found early success in popcorn cinema, leading to bigger roles that let her prove her mettle. At the end of the 1980s, she was on her way to securing the respect afforded a serious actress. But, as she traveled to Hollywood, Kidman had to start over. For a while, she was Tom Cruise's starlet girlfriend first and foremost, before a string of more challenging roles set the stage for widespread acclaim, culminating with an Oscar win. We'd see the cycle come back around after a slew of commercial and critical flops besmirched her image, making her the butt of many a plastic surgery joke. And then, there was her 2010s resurgence and the "rediscovery" of her talents in a new era of prestige TV. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

Today, we arrive at that Academy Award victory, the first great peak of Kidman's Hollywood journey. It was when she donned a prosthetic nose and delivered the specter of Virginia Woolf for Stephen Daldry's adaptation of The Hours…

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Nicole Kidman Tribute: Moulin Rouge! (2001)

by Cláudio Alves

Though many thought Nicole Kidman should have been welcomed into the Academy's good graces with 1995's To Die For, it would take six years until that early promise materialized in the actress' first Oscar nomination. Curiously, the path to such success went through a return to down under cinema that started to take shape with The Portrait of a Lady by kiwi auteur Jane Campion. This was also when Kidman began to challenge herself conspicuously by collaborating with true visionaries, picking projects based on who was behind the camera. That line of thinking took the actress into the dark reveries of Kubrick's swan song and, ultimately, the musical riot of Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge!, which started shooting shortly after Eyes Wide Shut hit theaters.

As Satine, the cabaret's star performer, Nicole Kidman is at the height of her powers, delivering a feat of such off-the-charts star wattage it would have been inconceivable for the Academy to look away…

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Cannes Diary: Palme d'Or winner "Anora"

by Elisa Giudici

Sean Baker takes the Palme d'Or for "Anora" © Sameer Al Doumy / AFP

“I've been working towards this goal for thirty years.” So says Sean Baker as he leaps from his seat in the Lumière theater upon hearing the announcement of his Palme d’Or victory. He thanks Francis Ford Coppola and David Cronenberg, dedicates his film to sex workers, and champions indie cinema meant to be experienced in theaters -- the best experience, he says, “despite what some tech multinationals want us to believe.”

He knows his life as a filmmaker is about to change. The victory of Anora is the culmination of a long journey for a filmmaker who has merged a vibrant, funny, commercial approach with serious themes and auteur rigor. From his speech—one of the best ever delivered by a Palme winner—it’s clear that he is a great storyteller first and foremost...

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Best Actress '74 @50: The Greatest of All Time

by Cláudio Alves

Last weekend, on Mother's Day of all days, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore celebrated its 50th anniversary. The occasion calls for some acknowledgment here at The Film Experience, where actressexual Oscar obsessives abound. After all, Ellen Burstyn won the Best Actress race at the 47th Academy Awards, triumphing over what could be described as the greatest lineup in the category's history. Along with the eventual victor, AMPAS nominated Diahann Carroll in Claudine, Faye Dunaway in Chinatown, Valerie Perrine in Lenny, and Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under the Influence. They might have also nominated Liv Ullmann in Scenes from a Marriage had she been eligible, but we'll get there in time. 

As Faye Dunaway presents a new doc at Cannes, the stars have aligned to relitigate the 1974 Best Actress race. Are you ready? Let's go…

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