The awful Nicole Kidman movie buried by the studio: “I’ve been told it was pretty extreme”
For Nicole Kidman, acting is a chance to tell vital stories, hence why she has so often opted for roles in movies or television shows that explore valuable topics such as domestic abuse, female sexuality, or family relationships. Of course, she’s not against a more fun and lighthearted role, such as playing the villain in Paddington, but Kidman loves a challenging movie, like Lars von Trier’s Dogville, for example.
Still, for all the acclaimed movies she has appeared in, from Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut to Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled, she has lent herself to a series of rather questionable and critically panned movies, such as Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Bewitched, and A Family Affair.
However, there’s one movie that outperformed the rest in terms of critical failure, truly cementing itself as the worst thing Kidman ever chosen to star in. It’s a shame because, with a good cast and an interesting premise, the movie had genuine potential, but it ultimately fell overwhelmingly flat. Grace of Monaco, the 2014 film that explored a pivotal moment in the life of actor and Princess of Monaco Grace Kelly, landed Kidman some of her worst reviews to date, as well as her lowest Rotten Tomatoes score, and even the movie’s release in the United States shifted to television, airing on Lifetime – a network famous for showing notoriously bad films – instead of in cinemas.
What went wrong with Grace of Monaco? The movie featured coveted actors like Tim Roth, Parker Posey, Frank Langella, and Derek Jacobi, but the script was heavily criticised for lacking depth or interest, subsequently affecting the performances of these otherwise great stars. Kidman had a big task on her hands by taking on the role of someone who graced some incredibly popular films, like Rear Window and High Noon, and she did the best with the material she was given, but it just wasn’t enough.
The movie faced considerable controversy when members of Monaco’s Royal Family, particularly Kelly’s children, expressed dissatisfaction with the movie’s subject matter. The lack of historical accuracy was criticised, although director Olivier Dahan was adamant that this was not necessarily the point of the film. He then came into conflict with the film’s distributor, Harvey Weinstein, over the final cut of the film, with several ‘completed’ versions of the movie being made.
Despite the movie opening at the Cannes Film Festival, it did so badly that the movie simply turned into Lifetime fodder, much to many of the crew members’ disappointment. Kidman tried to avoid reading the incredibly negative reviews of the film, quickly moving on to her next projects instead. She explained to The Sydney Morning Herald, “I have not read all of it, but I’ve been told it was pretty extreme. At the same time, I’ve had many extreme situations in my life.’’
Clearly, an actor has to make some mistakes in their career so that their ego doesn’t get too big, but luckily for Kidman, Paul King’s Paddington emerged that same year, receiving widespread positive reviews that certainly helped to cushion the blow of the disaster that was Grace of Monaco.
