10 Most Rewatchable Nicole Kidman Movies, Ranked

It would not be an overstatement to suggest that Nicole Kidman is one of the most successful performers of this century. Similar to contemporaries like Denzel Washington or Tom Cruise, Kidman has been consistently successful since the 1990s and has continued to challenge herself with exciting new projects. Kidman’s work has certainly earned her accolades, but that doesn’t mean that she can’t work on a silly romantic comedy like A Family Affair every now and then, either.

The Oscar-winning actress has certainly found a new audience thanks to her work on prestigious television, especially since her hit HBO drama series Big Little Lies is set to return for another season. Nonetheless, Kidman continues to challenge herself by appearing in a wide range of films that span multiple genres. Many of her movies are immensely rewatchable, whether because of their artistic value or how enjoyable they are. These are Nicole Kidman's most rewatchable movies, not just for her fans but for all cinema lovers.

10 ‘Lion’ (2016)

Directed by Garth Davis

One of Kidman’s greatest strengths is knowing under what conditions she should dominate the screen. Considering that Lion centers on the immigrant experience, it made sense that Kidman would only be required to play a supporting role. Lion is a sensitive family drama based on an incredible true story of perseverance and adventure. Kidman co-stars as an Australian woman who adopts a young boy from India (Dev Patel) who has been separated from his own family.

Kidman brings a soft, warm and maternalistic tone to her performance that makes Lion even more heartwarming and emotional. It’s a film so sincere in its atmosphere that it may be challenging for viewers not to tear up by the time it reaches its conclusion. Kidman’s performance earned her a well-deserved Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Lion

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9 ‘Stoker’ (2013)

Directed by Park Chan-wook

Kidman has never been a stranger to taking on villainous roles, and Stoker may be the scariest that she has ever been on screen. A sexually explosive psychological thriller from the brilliant South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, Stoker focuses on the strange relationships that form between a socially isolated young girl (Mia Wasikowska), her wealthy and pretentious mother (Kidman), and her enigmatic uncle (Matthew Goode). What follows is a series of disputes and revelations that make the family dynamics even more dysfunctional.

Stoker succeeds at twisting the audience’s expectations so that they can’t anticipate the next twist, yet never descends into moments of pure melodrama. Wasikowska served as the appropriately empathetic lead of the story, but Kidman’s vindictive and, at times, darkly amusing performance makes the film so rewatchable. It’s a performance unlike any other that she has given, making Stoker even more of a standout in her resumé.

Stoker

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8 ‘The Hours’ (2002)

Directed by Stephen Daldry

The Hours is one of the most unique biopics ever made, as it attempts to track how the novel Mrs. Dalloway affected three generations of women, inspiring them to take ownership of their lives. Although the segments involving Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore certainly have their compelling moments, Kidman steals the film with her performance as the famous author Virginia Woolf.

Director Stephen Daldry examines how themes of activism, suppression, and femininity become relevant to every character throughout three intersecting timelines. Kidman immerses the viewers in Woolf’s life so they can relate to her as a human being first and foremost and not just an accomplished author. Despite the heavy make-up required for the role, the emotionally devastating, Oscar-winning performance that Kidman gives in The Hours begs a rewatch.

The Hours (2002)

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7 ‘Cold Mountain’ (2003)

Directed by Anthony Minghella

Cold Mountain feels like the type of old-fashioned romantic historical epic that Hollywood doesn’t make anymore, which makes sense considering that it came from the prestigious auteur Anthony Minghella. Set during the beginning of the American Civil War, Cold Mountain tracks the relationship between a Southern woman (Kidman) and a skeptical soldier (Jude Law) who abandons his post in an attempt to return home and continue their relationship.

As with all of Minghella’s films, Cold Mountain is absolutely beautiful to look at and truly captures the essence of the historical era. Kidman has one of the most challenging roles in Cold Mountain, ensuring that the romantic storyline never feels too saccharine. Thankfully, the realistic chemistry that she shares with Law results in a bold, unabashed throwback that is just as devastating as it is enthralling.

Cold Mountain

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6 ‘The Northman’ (2022)

Directed by Robert Eggers

Director Robert Eggers perfected the horror genre with his films The Witch and The Lighthouse, but with The Northman, he took a stab at making a stylized adaptation of one of William Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedies. The Northman is a loose reimagining of the classic play Hamlet, in which Alexander Skarsgård stars as a young Viking who trains for years to avenge the death of his father (Ethan Hawke). Kidman has a critical role as the boy’s often ignored mother, whose true intentions are revealed in the film’s most shocking twist.

The Northman contains some of the greatest large-scale action sequences in recent memory, but many of the best scenes in The Northman are the conversations between Skarsgård and Kidman. It’s impressive that Kidman was able to take such a well-established character and transform her into an iconic villain for a completely new generation. Cold-hearted yet enthralling, Kidman's vicious queen makes The Northman even more rewatchable.

The Northman

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5 ‘Rabbit Hole’ (2010)

Directed by John Cameron Mitchell

Rabbit Hole may be the most devastating film that Kidman has ever starred in, which is a bold statement considering how many emotionally upsetting films she has appeared in. John Cameron Mithcell’s earnest family drama stars Kidman and the underrated Aaron Eckhart as a married couple mourning the death of their young son, who was killed in a car accident by their teenage neighbor (Miles Teller). The film becomes a profound examination of guilt, social consciousness, and the burdens that all parents carry on their shoulders.

Rabbit Hole examines the complex ways in which grief emerges, as everyone’s relationship with trauma is quite different. Kidman and Eckhart do such a great job of playing a believable couple coping with an unimaginable loss that the film feels almost uncomfortable to watch at times. Kidman’s performance earned her a well-deserved Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

Rabbit Hole

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4 ‘To Die For’ (1995)

Directed by Gus Van Sant

While she had done some impressive work in the early 1990s in films like Days of Thunder, To Die For gave Kidman the breakout role that she needed to kickstart her career. Loosely based on a true story, To Die For centers on a highly ambitious aspiring news anchor (Kidman) who convinces two strange teenage boys (Joaquin Phoenix and Casey Affleck) to murder her husband (Matt Dillon).

Director Gus Van Sant uses the unusual story as a means of examining the indulgences of the news media, the public’s association with violence, and how easily young minds can be corrupted by charismatic figures. Kidman is chilling and hilarious in a film that verges dramatically from being a dark comedy to a relentless thriller. It’s an amazing performance of a cinematic anti-hero that’s worthy of classics like Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver or John Wayne in The Searchers.

To Die For

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3 ‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer’ (2017)

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos

The Killing of a Sacred Deer is one of the most upsetting A24 horror films ever made, and not just because of its haunting ending. Yorgos Lanthimos’ mythologically inspired thriller follows a stern surgeon (Colin Farrell) who reluctantly agrees to take care of a young boy (Barry Keoghan) whose parents were recently killed on his operating table. Things get more complicated for the surgeon’s wife (Kidman) as she realizes that the boy is trying to move in on her young daughter (Raffey Cassidy).

Kidman brilliantly shows how inherent maternal instinct leads her character to make challenging choices, as The Killing of a Sacred Deer seems to revel in punishing its characters for their presumed crimes. The Killing of a Sacred Deer may be too artistic and graphic for all audiences to enjoy, but it’s still bound to provoke a discussion once it reaches its conclusion.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer

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2 ‘Moulin Rouge!’ (2001)

Directed by Baz Luhrmann

Moulin Rouge! isn’t just one of the greatest movie musicals of the 21st century but one of the best romance films of all time. Baz Luhrmann’s stylized romantic epic tracks the relationship between the penniless writer Christian (Ewan McGregor) and the enchanting dancer Satine (Kidman), who tries to break out of her marriage to a pretentious husband. Moulin Rouge! features extravagant musical numbers that merge the aesthetics of the era with modern needle drops, creating a lived-in version of history.

Kidman allows the viewer to fall in love with Satine the same way that Christian does, which makes the climactic ending even more heartbreaking. Here, Kidman proves that she is just as talented as a vocalist as she is as an actor. Moulin Rouge! earned Kidman an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, and the film itself was later adapted into a critically acclaimed Broadway musical of the same name.

Moulin Rouge!

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1 ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ (1999)

Directed by Stanley Kubrick

The last film of the great Stanley Kubrick,Eyes Wide Shut is a brilliant psychological thriller packed with hidden details, making it more compelling with each subsequent viewing. Set in New York City during the holiday season, Eyes Wide Shut focuses on the tormented relationship between a surgeon (Tom Cruise) and his wife (Kidman) after he begins investigating a secret society that performs illicit ceremonies without anyone else’s knowledge.

Eyes Wide Shut is a brilliant examination of the interiority of a marriage, and Kidman shows just how terrifying it can be to live with a man who makes sexist statements. While Kubrick himself sadly passed away before the film was released in theaters, Eyes Wide Shut remains a subject of debate, discourse, and speculation over two decades since it first made its debut.

Eyes Wide Shut

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