A thirtysomething bank clerk from St Albans has his small-town life exploded by the arrival of his Russian mail-order bride.A thirtysomething bank clerk from St Albans has his small-town life exploded by the arrival of his Russian mail-order bride.A thirtysomething bank clerk from St Albans has his small-town life exploded by the arrival of his Russian mail-order bride.
- Awards
- 1 win
Kate Lynn Evans
- Clare
- (as Kate Evans)
Alexander Armstrong
- Robert Moseley
- (as Xander Armstrong)
Rebecca Norton
- Bank Colleague
- (as Rebecca Clarke)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaNicole Kidman went to the Russian Embassy in Australia for help in speaking Russian. She didn't work with any other coach on the set except the woman from the embassy.
- GoofsBetween the time that John leaves the airport and arrives at the hotel after chasing the taxi, he has shaved.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Nicole Kidman: An American Cinematheque Tribute (2003)
- SoundtracksThe Most Beautiful Girl in the World
Composed by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart
Published by Williamson Music / Warner Chappel Music Ltd.
PolyGram International Publishing Inc.
Performed by Bob Sakek
Featured review
A gift for us
This is a clever, funny, sexy movie that starts as a romantic comedy and then becomes an edgy thriller.
Nerdy bank clerk, John Buckingham (Ben Chaplin) lives in a semi-rural town not far from London. When he orders a Russian mail order bride over the Internet, she duly self-delivers herself to the airport in the form of Nadia (Nicole Kidman). One of his main requirements in the arrangement was, "Someone you can really talk to. I think communication is key". But as John drives her home, he realises that Nadia can't speak English - or seems not to.
Although John at first desperately tries to contact the aptly named 'From Russia with Love' marriage agency to cancel the deal, the language barrier becomes far less important when he discovers that Nadia is sexually adventurous and encourages him to indulge his every fantasy with her.
Everything seems to be going perfectly for John until Nadia's Russian cousin, Yuri (Mathieu Kassovitz), and his friend Alexei (Vincent Cassel) turn up and overwhelm his life. Effusively friendly at first, they soon prove disturbingly dangerous, and John realises that all is not as it seems.
The plot heads into unpredictable territory and although the ending is pretty crazy it is also satisfying in light of all the revelations that take place along the way.
The film has a lightness of touch, but also a dark side. If I could compare it with any other film it might be Jonathan Demme's "Something Wild" - the sexually aggressive girl, the nerdy guy, the slowly blossoming relationship and the intrusion of a psychotic and dangerous boyfriend. The basic ingredients work in both movies.
Ben Chaplin hits just the right note as the colourless bank clerk who actually has a repressed wild side, he just needs the right person to unlock it and set it loose. His performance is both funny and engaging.
Pretty, sexy, and slim almost to the point of fragility, Nicole Kidman's Nadia looks vulnerable, but as we discover as the story unfolds, looks are deceiving. This is a captivating performance; she has little dialogue - and half of that is in Russian.
The amazing Vincent Cassel plays Alexei. No one can play dangerous like this guy. I didn't realise that he made "Birthday Girl" before "Irreversible". His role here was a good warm up, he exudes unpredictability - look at that martial arts kick he does when he is jogging with John. It is an indication of John's growth of character when he actually takes him on.
A lot of reviewers regard this as a flawed work, but I'm not so sure I can see the flaws. I enjoyed it from start to finish - I couldn't see how it was actually going to end, but it felt about right when it did.
Nerdy bank clerk, John Buckingham (Ben Chaplin) lives in a semi-rural town not far from London. When he orders a Russian mail order bride over the Internet, she duly self-delivers herself to the airport in the form of Nadia (Nicole Kidman). One of his main requirements in the arrangement was, "Someone you can really talk to. I think communication is key". But as John drives her home, he realises that Nadia can't speak English - or seems not to.
Although John at first desperately tries to contact the aptly named 'From Russia with Love' marriage agency to cancel the deal, the language barrier becomes far less important when he discovers that Nadia is sexually adventurous and encourages him to indulge his every fantasy with her.
Everything seems to be going perfectly for John until Nadia's Russian cousin, Yuri (Mathieu Kassovitz), and his friend Alexei (Vincent Cassel) turn up and overwhelm his life. Effusively friendly at first, they soon prove disturbingly dangerous, and John realises that all is not as it seems.
The plot heads into unpredictable territory and although the ending is pretty crazy it is also satisfying in light of all the revelations that take place along the way.
The film has a lightness of touch, but also a dark side. If I could compare it with any other film it might be Jonathan Demme's "Something Wild" - the sexually aggressive girl, the nerdy guy, the slowly blossoming relationship and the intrusion of a psychotic and dangerous boyfriend. The basic ingredients work in both movies.
Ben Chaplin hits just the right note as the colourless bank clerk who actually has a repressed wild side, he just needs the right person to unlock it and set it loose. His performance is both funny and engaging.
Pretty, sexy, and slim almost to the point of fragility, Nicole Kidman's Nadia looks vulnerable, but as we discover as the story unfolds, looks are deceiving. This is a captivating performance; she has little dialogue - and half of that is in Russian.
The amazing Vincent Cassel plays Alexei. No one can play dangerous like this guy. I didn't realise that he made "Birthday Girl" before "Irreversible". His role here was a good warm up, he exudes unpredictability - look at that martial arts kick he does when he is jogging with John. It is an indication of John's growth of character when he actually takes him on.
A lot of reviewers regard this as a flawed work, but I'm not so sure I can see the flaws. I enjoyed it from start to finish - I couldn't see how it was actually going to end, but it felt about right when it did.
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Іменинниця
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $13,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $5,142,576
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,370,809
- Feb 3, 2002
- Gross worldwide
- $16,171,098
- Runtime1 hour 33 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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