Nicole Kidman Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Nicole Kidman.

Nicole Kidman's Filmography Ranked:

21.Lion (D)

20.The Others (D+)

19.The Beguiled (C-)

18.Practical Magic (C-)

17.Secret in Their Eyes (C)

16.The Paperboy (C)

15.Batman Forever (C+)

14.Days of Thunder (B-)

13.Eyes Wide Shut (B-)

12.Stoker (B-)

11.Just Go with It (B)

10.Destroyer (B)

9.The Upside (B)

8.Paddington (B)

7.Bombshell (B+)

6.Rabbit Hole (B+)

5.Being the Ricardos (B+)

4.Aquaman (B+)

3.To Die For (B+)

2.The Northman (B+)

1.The Killing of a Sacred Deer (B+)

Top Dog: The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

Save for all of the great 2022 releases that have been released during this chunk of the calendar, The Killing of a Sacred Deer is the best movie I've seen over the past few months. Aided by a trio of terrific performances from Colin Farrell, Barry Keoghan and Kidman and suitably woozy cinematography from Thinios Bakatakis, Yorgos Lanthimos is able to craft a dread-fueled psychological thriller that disturbs, disorients and delights in equal measure. 

Bottom Feeder: Lion (2016)

Movies like Lion never fail to drive me nuts. Using a pretty remarkable true story about an Australian man who returns to India to find his family 25 years after he was separated from them as the inspiration to make a boring, shamelessly manipulative awards-bait drama is an icky tactic that Hollywood should table forever.  

Most Underrated: To Die For (1995)

While it's not quite as dark, funny or sadistic as Mary Herron's cult classic, To Die For is a great companion piece to American Psycho. Kidman's character is a vein, narcissistic master manipulator who will do anything to become famous, Gus Van Sant does a really great job of mixing the story's blend of dark comedy, drama and thriller elements into something that's tonally cohesive and the hilarious, maniacal lead performance from Kidman makes Suzanna Stone-Moretto an unforgettable villain.       

Most Overrated: The Others (2001)

Maybe it was a different story 21 years ago when it was released, but The Others just doesn't cut it in 2022. It's neither scary nor atmospheric enough to be an effective Gothic-era haunted house movie, the pacing is sluggish and the writing-particularly in the final act where the now widely known final twist takes hold of the story-is pretty weak. About the only good thing it did do was remind me to add Gullermo del Toro's wildly underrated Crimson Peak to my future rewatch list.