14 DAY TRIAL // When word of a movie featuring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman called “Australia” first got out in the media, the fans, as well as the critics, to some extent, were positively psyched at the idea of seeing it. However, when it did come out towards the end of 2008, “Australia” was not only snubbed, but altogether killed by the reception it got, or lack thereof. Nicole might have felt the same too, as she recently admitted to not feeling too “proud” about her work there.
Whereas, Kidman is usually too discreet to speak of her own person or work with the media, this time she has openly admitted to the Sydney Herald that having to sit through the premiere of “Australia” was one of the hardest things she had to do. Of course, she doesn’t plain out say that her performance was as bad as the critics make it to be, but she does come clean about not being too satisfied with how she handled the part.
“I can’t look at this movie and be proud of what I’ve done. I sat there, and I looked at Keith and went, ‘Am I any good in this movie?’ But I thought Brandon Walters and Hugh Jackman were wonderful. It’s just impossible for me to connect to it emotionally at all.” Nicole is quoted as saying. To cap it all off, the actress was so unimpressed with the epic film that, immediately after the premiere, she, husband Keith Urban and daughter Sunday Rose flew the country to escape negative reviews and the media backlash that she must have felt was coming her way.
“We ran because I didn’t want to read anything. I didn’t want to know. I saw my sister and my family and we saw Keith’s family and then we were straight on a plane.” the actress told radio station 2dayFM upon their return. In the same interview, Nicole also admitted that she rarely saw her own movies, saying that “Australia” was one of the two exceptions she made in her life, for the sake of director Baz Luhrmann.
Despite Nicole’s “confession,” the media continues to be relentless about her latest choices in terms of movie roles, as well as about her ability to perform like she once used to do. “We’ve been having trouble watching Ms. Kidman, who was one of our favorite actresses, since ‘Moulin Rouge,’ when her facial muscles first began to look like they were mysteriously freezing up. It’s not the getting older that bothers your film fans, Nicole. It’s the lack of expression, otherwise known as the Cher Syndrome.” Elizabeth Snead writes for the LA Times Blog.