''Birthday Girl'' is a 2001

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, scu ...

comedy thriller Comedy thrillers are a hybrid genre that draw subject matter generally from comedy and thrillers. Criteria They often include a darker tone, relative to other genres, of humor. List of comedy thriller films * '' The Big Fix'' (1978) * ''Chara ...

film directed by

Jez Butterworth Jeremy "Jez" Butterworth (born March 1969) is an English playwright, screenwriter, and film director. He has written screenplays in collaboration with his brothers, John-Henry and Tom. Life and career In March 1969, Butterworth was born in Lo ...

. The plot focuses on English bank clerk John Buckingham, who orders a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

mail-order bride A mail-order bride is a woman who lists herself in catalogs and is selected by a man for marriage. In the twentieth century, the trend was primarily towards women living in developing countries seeking men in more developed nations. The majority ...

, Nadia. It becomes clear upon her arrival that Nadia cannot speak English, and early into her stay, two mysterious men come to the house claiming to be her cousin and cousin's friend. The film features

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

Ben Chaplin Ben Chaplin (born Benedict John Greenwood; 31 July 1969)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com is a British actor. He is best known for his roles in films, including ''The Truth About Cats & Dogs' ...

Mathieu Kassovitz Mathieu Kassovitz (; born 3 August 1967) is a French actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter. He is the founder of MNP Entreprise, a film production company. He has won three César Awards: Most Promising Actor for '' See How They ...

, and

Vincent Cassel Vincent Cassel (; ; born 23 November 1966) is a French actor. He first achieved recognition for his performance as a troubled French Jewish youth in Mathieu Kassovitz's 1995 film ''La Haine (Hate)'', for which he received two César Award nom ...

. English and Russian are spoken interchangeably in the film.

Plot

John Buckingham (

), a introverted, lonely

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman ...

bank clerk, orders a

Nadia (

) from Russia on the Internet. John is uncomfortable and shy, but Nadia is sexually bold. Although Nadia cannot speak English and John cannot speak Russian, they soon bond. Later on, a man she introduces as her cousin Yuri (

) and his friend Alexei (

) turn up to celebrate her birthday. Alexei soon shows that he has a temper. After a violent altercation, Alexei holds Nadia hostage and demands a ransom from John. As he has grown to care for Nadia, he is forced to steal from the bank where he has worked for ten years. After the ransom is paid, he realises that he has been the victim of an elaborate con. Nadia, Yuri, and Alexei are criminals, and Alexei is actually Nadia's boyfriend. The trio have carried out the same scam on men from Switzerland, Greece and Germany. They take John prisoner, strip him down to his underpants, and tie him to a toilet in a motel. He eventually frees himself and quickly learns that Nadia has been left behind after Alexei discovered she was pregnant. John gets dressed and subsequently fights with her, who later reveals that she can indeed speak English and that her name is not Nadia. John takes Nadia to turn her in to the police, hoping to clear his name as a wanted bank robber. Ultimately however, he sympathises with her and decides against it. He leaves her at the airport, where she is kidnapped by Alexei, who now wants Nadia to have the baby. John rescues her, tying Alexei to a chair. They work together against the two Russian men. Nadia tells John that her real name is Sophia. John, disguised as Alexei, leaves for Russia with her.

Cast

as Sophia/Nadia *

as John Buckingham *

as Alexei *

as Yuri * Kate Evans as Clare *

Stephen Mangan Stephen James Mangan (born 16 May 1968) is an English actor, comedian, presenter and writer. He has played Guy Secretan in ''Green Wing'', Dan Moody in ''I'm Alan Partridge'', Seán Lincoln in '' Episodes'', Bigwig in ''Watership Down'', Postm ...

as Bank Manager * Xander Armstrong as Robert Moseley *

Sally Phillips Sally Elizabeth Phillips (born 10 May 1970) is an English actress, television presenter, and comedian. She co-created and was one of the writers of the sketch comedy show '' Smack the Pony''. She is also known for her roles in '' Miranda'' as T ...

as Karen * Jo McInnes as Waitress *

Ben Miller Bennet Evan Miller (born 24 February 1966) is an English actor, comedian, and author. He rose to fame as one half of the comedy duo Armstrong and Miller. Miller is also known for playing the lead role of DI Richard Poole in the first two serie ...

as Concierge *

Jonathan Aris Jonathan Aris is a British actor who has appeared in films, television and the theatre. He has narrated three TV documentaries produced and aired by the National Geographic Channel, and appears as Philip Anderson in the BBC television series ' ...

as D.I. O'Fetiger *

Steve Pemberton Steven James Pemberton (born 1 September 1967) is a British actor, comedian, director and writer. He is best known as a member of '' The League of Gentlemen'' with Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss, and Jeremy Dyson. Pemberton and Shearsmith also c ...

as Duty Sergeant *

Reece Shearsmith Reeson Wayne "Reece" Shearsmith (born 27 August 1969) is an English actor, writer and comedian. He is best known for being a member of '' The League of Gentlemen'', alongside Steve Pemberton, Mark Gatiss, and Jeremy Dyson. With Pemberton, he l ...

as Porter *

Mark Gatiss Mark Gatiss (; born 17 October 1966) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. His work includes writing for and acting in the television series '' Doctor Who'', '' Sherlock'', and '' Dracula''. Together with ...

as Porter

Reception

The film grossed $16,171,098.Birthday Girl (2002)
Box Office Mojo It has a 58% approval on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

with an average rating of 5.71/10, indicating a mixed critical reception. Jason Solomon of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'' praised the casting "Cassel, Kassovitz and Kidman are beautifully graceful against the backdrop of signs to Tring and Newbury." He continued "The comedy here is gentle, formed of linguistic misunderstandings and cultural clashes and Chaplin's constant efforts to be polite are rather charming. Kidman's exoticism, encapsulated by her peasant-chic wardrobe, is fresh air in St Albans." The BBC reviewer gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, praised Chaplin's and Kidman's "infectious performances" and describe it as a "sparky" and "deviant topical comedy which is funny from start to finish." CNN praised Kidman's "astounding range" and applauded the dialogue as "often sharp, scathingly witty, and displays a wry intelligence." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described the film as "competent" but decried the plot as too "insubstantial".Birthday Girl (2001) FILM REVIEW; Shy Neat-Freak With Kinky Leanings? Sounds Like the Perfect Victim
New York Times. 1 February 2002

References

External links

*

{{Jez Butterworth 2001 films 2001 crime thriller films 2001 romantic comedy films 2000s crime comedy films 2000s erotic thriller films American comedy thriller films American crime comedy films American crime thriller films American erotic thriller films American romantic comedy films British comedy thriller films British crime comedy films British crime thriller films British erotic thriller films British romantic comedy films 2000s English-language films Film4 Productions films Films about con artists Films directed by Jez Butterworth Films scored by Stephen Warbeck Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films with screenplays by Jez Butterworth 2000s Russian-language films 2000s American films 2000s British films