25 must-see films playing at this year’s AFI Fest

Destroyer

What’s the story?: Nicole Kidman stars as Erin Bell, a Los Angeles police detective still struggling with the after effects of an undercover operation that went south. When a body turns up, it leads Erin to believe that the gang leader whose operation she infiltrated has returned for revenge.

Director Karyn Kusama makes bleak stories about tough women. More importantly, she often tells these stories in order to showcase the societal context that makes women that way. From her debut feature Girl Fight to her works in the horror genre, Jennifer’s Body and The Invitation, Kusama is a director who divides audiences because she isn’t afraid to be uncompromising in how the world uses and abuses ladies. Her latest, Destroyer, also received a divided response at previous festivals, with many praising it as a masterpiece and just as many saying it was utterly terrible. Sounds like my kind of film!

Kusama is working with her biggest star to date in actress Nicole Kidman, who’s gone through a bit of a persona switch over the last few years. In between kids films, works of independent drama, and her recent turn on HBO’s Big Little Lies, Kidman is becoming a bit of a chameleon. This year alone she has Destroyer, a film working more on her acting ability than her beautiful looks, and the gay conversion drama/Oscar contender, Boy Erased. This is easily Kidman’s grittiest role and continues her run of keeping audiences’ on their toes, never knowing what she’ll seek out next.