Nicole Kidman Faces a Dark Past in ‘Destroyer’ Trailer

By Dave McNary

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Nicole Kidman is almost unrecognizable as a damaged Los Angeles Police Department detective in the first trailer for Annapurna’s “Destroyer.”

The footage, released Wednesday, shows Kidman’s character, Erin Bell, haunted by the memory of an undercover operation with a gang in the California desert that ended with tragic results. When the leader of that gang re-emerges many years later, she has to confront her own history.

“I’m mad,” she says. “I’m still mad. It’s burned a circuit in my brain.”

Karyn Kusama directed “” from a script by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. The cast also includes Sebastian Stan, Tatiana Maslany, Bradley Whitford, and Toby Kebbell. Fred Berger, Hay and Manfredi are producing.

“Destroyer” premiered at this year’s Telluride Film Festival. In his review for Variety,  Peter Debruge gave the thriller high praise , noting Kidman’s physical transformation: “Nothing has done in her career can prepare you for “Destroyer” — to the extent it’s easy to imagine someone wandering/tuning in to the film and watching for several minutes before realizing that the sunburnt piece of beef jerky up on screen is none other than the alabaster beauty from ‘BMX Bandits’ and ‘Far and Away.’” he wrote.

“Destroyer” hits theaters on Dec. 25. Watch the trailer above.