Birthday Girl (2001)

A thirtysomething bank clerk from St Albans has his small-town life exploded by the arrival of his Russian mail-order bride.

Director:

Jez Butterworth

Writers:

Tom Butterworth, Jez Butterworth

Stars:

Nicole Kidman, Ben Chaplin, Vincent Cassel

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicole Kidman	...	Sophia, alias Nadia
Ben Chaplin	...	John
Vincent Cassel	...	Alexei
Mathieu Kassovitz	...	Yuri
Kate Lynn Evans	...	Clare (as Kate Evans)
Stephen Mangan	...	Bank Manager
Alexander Armstrong	...	Robert Moseley (as Xander Armstrong)
Sally Phillips	...	Karen
Jo McInnes	...	Waitress
Ben Miller	...	Concierge
Jonathan Aris	...	D.I. O'Fetiger
Katya Barton-Chapple	...	Young Sophia
Rebecca Clarke	...	Bank Colleague
Mark Gatiss	...	Porter
Raj Ghatak	...	Bank Colleague

Storyline

Internet love connections and mail-order brides rarely ever work out, and John should have known. Having never been lucky in the game of love and tired of waiting for the perfect woman to come along, John decides to take his chances and orders a mail-order bride from Russia online. At first, things seem perfect: his new bride Nadia is a gorgeous woman, and although she may not speak much English, her skills in the bedroom more than make up for any communication problems. When Nadia's 'cousins' unexpectedly arrive to celebrate her birthday, John is drawn into their web of corruption and crime.

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Plot Keywords:

mail order bride | russia | bank clerk | birthday | bank | 

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Taglines:

Dangerous Girl... Deceptive Girl... Innocent Girl...

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and language

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

1 February 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ruleta rusa

Filming Locations:

Ashridge Park, Little Gaddesden, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$86,101 (Brazil) (15 November 2002)

Gross:

$86,101 (Brazil) (15 November 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

FilmFour, HAL Films, Mirage Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nicole Kidman went to the Russian Embassy in Australia for help in speaking Russian. She didn't work with any other coach on the set except the woman from the embassy.

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Goofs

Sophia lights a cigarette with a disposable lighter in the car as they leave the airport, but the sound is of the lid of a Zippo being flipped open.

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Quotes

Nadia: [in Russian] Are you a giraffe?
John: [in Russian] Yes.

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Connections

References From Russia with Love (1963)

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Soundtracks

"Somethin' Stupid"
Written by C. Carson Parks
Performed by Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman
Courtesy of Chrysalis Records, Ltd.
Under License from EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets
(p) 2001 Chrysalis Records, Ltd.

User Reviews

offbeat, underplayed drama

Roughly one part crime drama to two parts offbeat love story, `Birthday Girl' is a nifty little British film that gives Nicole Kidman a chance to strut her stuff as an actress. Here she gets to play a Russian `mail order bride' (though, of course, in the modern world she is actually ordered off the internet) who's come to England to start a new life with John, a mild-mannered banker unsuccessful in the ways of love. John is one of those bland, utterly undistinguished `good guys' who everyone seems to like but no one seems to notice. Even his boss at the bank gives him one of those noncommittal job evaluations (saying what a swell guy he is and what a great way he has with people) used to fob people off when they are not good enough to merit a raise or a more prestigious position in the corporation. Forced to go the unconventional route in finding himself a wife, John hooks up with the lovely but inscrutable Nadia, a Russian woman who, John is appalled to learn, does not understand a word of English. Then just as John and Nadia seem to be forming a close relationship (literally bonding over bondage), complications arise when two of Nadia's bizarre `friends' from Russia suddenly arrive on the scene.

To reveal more of the plot would be unfair to both the viewer and the makers of this film, since much of the movie's intrigue arises from the frequent turnabouts in the plot itself. Although there is always the threat of violence hammering at the film's edges, writers Tom and Jez Butterworth (the latter serving as the film's director as well), manage to keep the film fairly havoc free while they focus on the developing relationship between the two main characters. Kidman, who speaks nary a word of English in the first half of the film (and only with a heavy accent thereafter), does a beautiful job conveying both the toughness and the vulnerability inherent in this woman. Though innately compassionate, Nadia has had to learn how to survive in a brutal world - even if that means having to exploit naïve, good-natured shmucks like John. As John, Ben Chaplin conveys just the right mixture of shyness, befuddlement and ultimate self-assuredness to make us root for the character. Because of his Everyman characteristics, we want to see John triumph in the end.

`Birthday Girl' doesn't try to push the envelope by indulging in elaborate action scenes or patently theatrical heroics. Its events seem to unravel in a spontaneous, naturalistic manner, which helps the film to remain relatively true to life most of the time. It tells an unusual story, one filled with wry humor, understated suspense and a compassionate recognition of human frailty. Well written and well acted, `Birthday Girl' is an unheralded film that deserves to be seen.