Nicole Nails It

The role of a psychologically fragile author marks a return to familiar territory for Nicole Kidman in her new film, Margot at the Wedding.

It certainly paid off last time round as she clinched an Oscar for her beautifully controlled performance as Virginia Woolf in The Hours, and this latest work seems equally full of promise.

As the highly-strung Margot, Kidman brings the same level of complexity to her new role, combining fleeting moments of maternal warmth with bouts of harshness and cruelty.

The new film, directed by Noah Baumbuch, centres on a gathering between Margot's dysfunctional family, including her previously estranged sister Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh), and Margot's long suffering husband Jim (John Turturro).

The most engrossing element of the film is Margot's rocky yet tender relationship with 12-year-old son Claude (Zane Pais). The opening scene speaks volumes about the distance that gapes between them at times, as Claude, travelling on a train with Margot, returns from the train cafe and mistakenly sits next to a stranger who he takes for his mother. Although it's a humorous moment, there is an unhappy truth lurking just under the surface.

However, just as Margot may bring Claude to the verge of tears with her sharp tongue and spiteful criticisms, there are also moments of genuine affection between the two, as they share jokes and Margot rests her head on Claude's shoulder.

In the early part of the film, Margot and Claude travel by train and ferry to the wedding of Pauline and her fiance Malcolm (Jack Black), a frustrated musician.

As Malcolm picks them up in a car with dodgy brakes and drives crazily to his and Pauline's home, the seeds of doubt are planted in Margot's mind as to whether he is a worthy match for her sister.

Once she and Claude arrive at the house, Margot becomes increasingly resentful and the reasons for her previous rift with Pauline become obvious. Her unpredictable behaviour includes a tree-climbing stunt (which ends with her being rescued by the fire brigade) and joining Malcolm in a childish tantrum during a croquet match.