The Railway Man
Nicole Kidman is an Australian actress, singer, and film producer that has never ceased to amaze audiences. She has taken roles in a diverse range of genres including singing and dancing in the musical Moulin Rouge! to completely changing her appearance in the drama, The Hours.
Kidman has won 41 awards, including an Academy Award, and had 79 other nominations. In anticipation of the new film The Railway Man, we are taking a look back at Nicole Kidman’s best films.
- Far and Away (1992)
Starring with her future husband, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman blew audiences away in her first widely recognized role.
Far and Away tells the story of Joseph Donelly (Tom Cruise), an impoverished 19th century Irish farmer who has recently lost both his father and his home and his romance with the landlord’s daughter (Nicole Kidman) as they immigrate to America seeking their fortune and taking part in the Land Run of 1893.
Although Kidman’s performance made her recognizable within Hollywood, the movie itself received mixed reviews. The film was nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song for the song Book of Days.
- To Die For (1995)
To Die For served as Nicole Kidman’s breakout role. The film is a crime comedy-drama film made in a mockumentary format.
Playing ‘Suzanne Stone’, a woman obsessed with becoming a TV personality and will do anything to be in the spotlight; Kidman won her first Golden Globe for Best Actress.
After this role, she was seen as an A-list actor and became a Hollywood regular.
- The Others (2001)
Nicole Kidman starred in the psychological/supernatural horror film, The Others. Grace (Kidman) is living with her two photosensitive children in a large mansion.
As soon as she hires strange housekeepers, things become bizarre. With her son claiming there is a boy visiting him and as strange events continue to occur, Grace and her children embark on a revelation about the house, its intruders, and the truth about themselves.
The Others won eight Goya awards, and became the first English-language film in Goya history to win Best Film. Kidman was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, and won 3 Saturn awards. Her performance is seen as one of her best.
- Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Earning her second Golden Globe Award and first Academy Award Nomination for Best Actress, Nicole Kidman stars in Moulin Rouge!.
The film is an eccentric, romantic pastiche - jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. The story follows a young English poet/writer, Christian (Ewan McGregor) who falls in love with the terminally-ill star performer at the Moulin Rouge, Satine (Nicole Kidman).
The film was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Nicole Kidman, winning two: for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design.
Moulin Rouge! was the first musical nominated for the Best Picture in 10 years, following Disney’s Beauty and the Beast in 1991. The movie grossed $179,213,434 worldwide.
- The Hours (2002)
With a prosthetic nose and unflattering make-up, Nicole Kidman is unrecognizable in the drama, The Hours. The plot focuses on three women of different generations whose lives are interconnected by the novel Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf.
Kidman plays Virginia Woolf herself, a woman in the 1920s struggling with depression and mental illness whilst trying to write her novel.
The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards; Nicole Kidman taking the only win for Best Actress in a Leading Role. The film grossed $102,876,072 worldwide and received highly positive reviews.
- Cold Mountain (2003)
Nicole Kidman’s performance in Cold Mountain provided her with her sixth Golden Globe nomination.
The film follows W.P Inman’s (Jude Law) desertion from the confederate army and the journey he takes to return back to the love of his life (Nicole Kidman). Cold Mountain was nominated for more than seventy awards, including seven Academy Award nominations.
- Rabbit Hole (2010)
In an adaption of the David Linsay-Abaire play, Rabbit Hole is a film that follows a couple struggling to heal after the death of their young son.
Nicole won her third Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role as well as a Golden Globe nomination for the role. The Rabbit Hole is said to be Kidman’s best performance.
- The Paperboy (2012)
Playing a trashy Southern Bell with perverted longings, Nicole Kidman steals the big screen in The Paperboy. The film centres on a reporter returning to his Florida hometown to investigate a case involving a death row inmate.
The Paperboy provided Nicole Kidman with her tenth Golden Globe nomination as well as her seventh Screen Actors Guild Award. The film earned $2,424,372 worldwide.
- The Railway Man (2014)
In one of her deepest, most moving roles, Nicole Kidman stars in the new film The Railway Man. Kidman depicts Patti Lomax, the wife of Eric Lomax (Colin Firth), a real life World War II POW struggling with psychological trauma.
With the help of Eric’s best friend, Patti convinces the pained veteran to return to the railway to face his former captor. As the confrontation unfolds, he must make the difficult choice between revenge and reconciliation.
The Railway Man is out now.
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