Destroyer

Name: Destroyer
Genre: Action, Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Crime
Released: December 25, 2018
Duration: 121 min
Rating: 62
Cast: Beau Knapp, Bradley Whitford, Jade Pettyjohn, James Jordan, Natalia Cordova-Buckley

2018

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 44 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 75 Ratings

See All

5.6

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

5.6	Your Score
5.6	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 75 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Play Sound

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

Destroyer

Now Playing: Destroyer

Movie Details & Credits

Annapurna Pictures | Release Date: December 25, 2018 | R

Starring: Beau Knapp, Bradley Whitford, Jade Pettyjohn, James Jordan, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, Nicole Kidman, Scoot McNairy, Sebastian Stan, Shamier Anderson, Tatiana Maslany, Toby Huss, Toby Kebbell

Summary: Destroyer follows the moral and existential odyssey of LAPD detective Erin Bell who, as a young cop, was placed undercover with a gang in the California desert with tragic results. When the leader of that gang re-emerges many years later, she must work her way back through the remaining members and into her own history with them to finallyDestroyer follows the moral and existential odyssey of LAPD detective Erin Bell who, as a young cop, was placed undercover with a gang in the California desert with tragic results. When the leader of that gang re-emerges many years later, she must work her way back through the remaining members and into her own history with them to finally reckon with the demons that destroyed her past. [Annapurna]
… Expand

Director: Karyn Kusama

Genre(s): Action, Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 121 min

See All Details and Credits

Watch Now

Stream On

Buy on

Stream On

Expand

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

Bryan Bishop

Oct 8, 2018

It’s a strong film, directed with confidence and a trust that the audience will be able to keep up, no matter how convoluted the narrative becomes. Read full review

Tiffany Tchobanian

Jan 4, 2019

Destroyer is a good film, but it is Kidman’s nuanced performance that takes it to the next level. Read full review

Gary Thompson

Jan 10, 2019

The story circles cleverly back on itself, putting an original spin on the familiar tale of the burned-out investigator reckoning with the defining event in a checkered career. Read full review

Bilge Ebiri

Dec 20, 2018

Kidman’s performance as this broken, obsessed woman is powerful. Breathless, rasping through her teeth, she conveys both vulnerability and intractability. She seems like she could drop dead at any second, and yet, we also sense that we’re watching someone who has already had to endure the worst life has to give her. Read full review

Kenneth Turan

Dec 24, 2018

Destroyer is simultaneously impressive and stand-offish. Persuasively directed by Kusama and convincingly acted by Kidman and expert costars like Toby Kebbell and Sebastian Stan though it is, its determination to live exclusively at the darkest end of the street pays disagreeable dividends. Read full review

Movie Nation Roger Moore

Feb 3, 2019

It’s a star vehicle, awards bait and a showcase thriller that barely holds your interest as you wait through the whispers and “She looks TERRIBLE” closeups for something exciting or moving to happen. Read full review

Keith Uhlich

Dec 17, 2018

The filmmakers treat their material sternly and humorlessly, as if there's some great moral lesson to be imparted from Erin's inexhaustible blotto jerkiness. Read full review

SEE ALL 44 REVIEWS

Write a Review

User Reviews

Brent_Marchant

Jan 12, 2019

nnAlthough a bit sluggishly paced at times, this crime saga about the search for justice and redemption is a surprisingly good thriller with an excellent lead performance by Nicole Kidman in a decidedly different role. The clever storytelling format, coupled with a no-holds-barred approachnnAlthough a bit sluggishly paced at times, this crime saga about the search for justice and redemption is a surprisingly good thriller with an excellent lead performance by Nicole Kidman in a decidedly different role. The clever storytelling format, coupled with a no-holds-barred approach to the action sequences, make for an intriguing (and at times shocking) saga, made all the better by inventive editing, an eclectic but well-orchestrated mix of cinematography styles and a carefully measured sequence of revelation. This one's getting an undeserved bad rap in some critical circles, so go see it for yourself and make up your own mind; you may well come away pleasantly surprised.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

Bertaut1

Feb 1, 2019

A superb central performance elevates a quotidian plot

Written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi, and directed by Karyn Kusama, Destroyer is an unashamedly pulpy genre piece, confrontationally ugly and unapologetically nihilistic. Essentially the story of a damaged cop determined to settle oneA superb central performance elevates a quotidian plot

Written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi, and directed by Karyn Kusama, Destroyer is an unashamedly pulpy genre piece, confrontationally ugly and unapologetically nihilistic. Essentially the story of a damaged cop determined to settle one last score, what Destroyer brings to the table is that the archetypal "he" of such narratives is here a "she", with Kusama relying heavily on Nicole Kidman's performance to do most of the heavy lifting. Although the film has the tendency to approach every scene with an air of self-seriousness that can become grating, there are undeniably individual moments of great brilliance here.

LAPD homicide detective Erin Bell (Kidman) is burnt out. Following her efforts to find Silas (Toby Kebbell), the former leader of a bank robbery crew, the film tells the parallel story of Bell trying to raise her daughter, Shelby (Jade Pettyjohn). Revealing via a series of flashbacks that 17 years prior, Bell and then partner, Chris (Sebastian Stan), were given an undercover assignment to bust Silas and his crew. Posing as a couple, they infiltrated the group, but fell in love for real, with subsequent events resulting in the broken person Bell has become.

Although Kusama doesn't explicitly foreground it, gender politics are an important aspect of the film. Much has been made of Kidman's physical transformation, although both Kusama and Kidman have argued that her appearance is not what the film is about, nor should it be critics' focus. Still though, we're not quite at a point where a woman altering her appearance for a role is unremarkable, and like Charlize Theron in Monster (2003), Kidman's commitment to the part must be applauded. She commits to Bell as an unlikable, violent, and psychologically ruined character, which in and of itself challenges conventional notions of what a female lead should be. Embittered and irredeemable, Bell is the type of person usually played by a man, and it's to the film's credit that it resists the urge to soften her, with Kidman's performance haunting, disturbing, and heartbreaking all at once. The flashback structure is also important here, as Kidman plays Bell very differently in these scenes - her hair is more kempt, her skin smoother (via some subtle de-ageing VFX), her eyes don't droop, her gait is more upright, she smiles a couple of times, her voice is more authoritative. A stark contrast to the woman we initially meet.

Of course, she's also a mother, and like so many male archetypes, she has not been there for her child. This compels the audience to ask questions regarding how men and women are perceived on screen - is a woman neglecting a child more forgivable than a man doing so, or less; do we simply expect women to automatically be good mothers in ways we never consider in relation to men as fathers? What do our presuppositions about motherhood on screen say about us?

Aesthetically, Kusama's LA is deeply cynical and owes a sizable debt to Michael Mann. A place of dried out waterways, burnt grass, a glaring sun, endless concrete, pollution, corruption, betrayal, graffiti, and indiscriminate violence the city is shot by Cinematographer Julie Kirkwood in washed-out anaemic hues, with lots of sun spots and lens flares (although she uses a more saturated palette in the flashbacks).

Of course, there are problems. For the most part, the screenplay is unoriginal and without the power of Kidman's performance, this would have been a straight-to-disk. The script also seems to be teasing the audience with the promise of a big reveal that will transpose Bell's story into something more esoteric. The first season of True Detective employed this technique as well, but when the show pulled the trigger, the reveal was worth the wait. In Destroyer, it's hard to be certain if there even was a reveal. The script is aiming for profundity, but it's nowhere near as smart as it thinks it is. Along these lines, Kusama makes some very strange directorial choices, such as shooting a group of skateboarders in chiaroscuro and extreme slow-motion, not once, but twice. What exactly is their significance? Why does Kusama shoot them as if they are offering some kind of life-altering revelation? Are they supposed to act as a chorus? Are they a metaphor for something?

Destroyer is an average story elevated by the commitment of its lead and some laudable aesthetic work. It's a cynical and humourless film noir aspiring to something more substantial, but never really attaining it. However, its unflinching depiction of devastating emotional trauma, presenting Bell as an open wound, slowly bleeding out, is brilliantly handled. The complete inverse of films which depict characters responding to tragedy with humour, optimism, and determination, Destroyer is brutally nihilistic, giving us a character whose obsession is both keeping her alive and killing her.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

geewah

Jan 4, 2021

A strong yet understated performance from Kidman in a movie that's more about someone struggling with decisions made in the past than it is a crime/cop movie

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

RaduA

Jan 25, 2019

I got out of the cinema after 40 minutes. Maybe it's not for my tastes ... but my friends did not like it ... at all.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Ralfbergs

Jan 14, 2021

While I liked the premise and thought Nicole Kidman was great in it, plus the story idea in general was good, how it outplayed on the screen felt so boring at times. It felt like it dragged on too much with boring scenes where nothing really happened which made it less exciting to watch

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Fazha

May 31, 2019

This movie seems more like a showcase for Kidman's transformative acting abilities (although it was way too jarring with the obvious makeup and wig) than a movie concerned with story and plot.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Dlrlm

Jul 19, 2019

This movie sucked. Gabe me the feeling she was just chasing an oscar by not wearing any makeup. Like that Charlize Theron movie about that serial killer. Except that one was good.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

SEE ALL 20 REVIEWS