Birthday Girl
UK/USA 2001. Director: Jez Butterworth
Cast: Ben Chaplin, Nicole Kidman, Vincent Cassel

Lonely bank clerk Ben Chaplin decides to order a mail-order girl from Russia to keep him company. He gets a Nicole Kidman in heavy make-up who can't speak a word of English. Or so he believes, because not much in Birthday Girl is what it seems. It starts out as an offbeat romantic comedy but after about 30 minutes it takes a wicked turn into a dark crime thriller, then transforming again into a road movie (best part) for a while before ending as something else. It's a bit uneven at times and it would't have worked if it wasn't for the well-written characters and the performances which are above average. Kidman is unrecognizable as Nadia the Russian mail-order bride while Cassel and Kassovitz are over the top as a couple stupid criminals in her track. Worth seeing.