 Starring: Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall, Paul Bettany, James Caan, Patricia Clarkson, Stellan Skarsgard
Director: Lars von Trier
Year Of Release: 2003
Plot: On the run from criminals, Grace takes refuge in a small Colorado town. They agree to hide her and in return she will work for them, however as the townsfolk realise they are the ones with the power, Dogville begins to bare its teeth and make her life hell – however they may soon regret their actions. |
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Looking back over Nicole Kidman’s career, I’ve come to the conclusion that her hair does as much acting as she does. That may seem a strange to thing to say, but I was thinking about it when I watched Lar Von Trier's experiemental drama Dogville, where her normally curly luscious ginger locks are cut shorter and died blonde, in a seemingly deliberate attempt to make her look less sexy and more innocent and vulnerable.
Of course many people’s hair changes from film to film in response to the character they’re playing, but Nicole’s has gone from long to pixie, been red, blonde and brown, it’s been up, down and just about everywhere in between, and each time it says as much about her character as anything that comes out of her mouth.
So in the course of her career, exactly what has her hair said about her?
BMX Bandits (1983)
Character: Judy
What Her Hair Says: I’m so Aussie and fresh-faced it looks like a bottle of perming solution has exploded on my head!
Dead Calm (1989)
Character: Rae Ingram
What Her Hair Says: Look how ginger, curly and sexy my hair is, please Hollywood notice me!
Days Of Thunder (1990)
Character: Claire Lewicki
What Her Hair Says: See how my bushy hair makes me look extra tall next to Tom; this will be my minor rebellion against him for the next 10 years.
Billy Bathgate (1991)
Character: Drew Preston
What Her Hair Says: I just wanted to prove the carpet matches the drapes.
To Die For (1995)
Character: Suzanne Stone Maretto
What Her Hair Says: I’ve straightened my hair because I’m now a proper arty actress in a Gus Van Sant film, and ain’t it sexy?
Batman Forever (1996)
Character: Dr. Chase Meridian
What Her Hair Says: Doesn’t my hair looking shiny and sleek next to black rubber.
The Portrait Of A Lady (1996)
Character: Isabel Archer
What Her Hair Says: I’m in a literary adaptation, so I’d better have a hairdo that makes me look like I have a giant brain.
Practical Magic (1998)
Character: Gillian Owens
What Her Hair Says: My gothic gingerness makes me look sooo magical and witchy.
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Character: Alice Harford
What Her Hair Says: I’ve put my hair up to show how comfortable and homey it is with Tom in our real, loving marriage, and that I’m not repelled by his presence.
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Character: Satine
What Her Hair Says: I’m the best groomed hooker who’s ever lived!
The Others (2001)
Character: Grace Stewart
What Her Hair Says: Tight and curly makes me look a bit severe and as if I may be slightly deranged.
The Hours (2002)
Character: Virginia Woolf
What Her Hair Says: Look how dowdy I am (and I’ve even got a fake nose). Can I have my Oscar now?
Dogville (2003)
Character: Grace
What Her Hair Says: My hair is so short, straight and blond, how could anyone want to repeatedly abuse and rape me?
Cold Mountain (2003)
Character: Ada Monroe
What Her Hair Says: Don’t I look so much better than Renee Zellweger?
Birth (2004)
Character: Anna
What Her Hair Says: I look like a young boy, so maybe I’d like to take a bath with one who may be the reincarnation of my dead husband.
Bewitched (2005)
Character: Isabel
What Her Hair Says: Hopefully my carefully coiffed hair will mesmerise people so they don’t realise what a dog the rest of the film is.
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait Of Diane Arbus (2006)
Character: Diane Arbus
What Her Hair Says: I’ve got a ponytail, look how period drama I am!
The Invasion (2007)
Character: Carol Bennell
What Her Hair Says: Even my hair is freaked out by pod people trying to take over the Earth.
The Golden Compass (2007)
Character: Mrs. Coulter
What Her Hair Says: I’ve finally embraced the ice queen image I’ve been running from for years.
Australia (2008)
Character: Lady Sarah Ashley
What Her Hair Says: A bit shorter and uncombed and I suddenly look like I’ve been droving cattle for decades!
TIM ISAAC
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