But instead of plying, pulling and pushing, Cave seems distracted by trying to make her colorful directorial vision align with Andrew Sodroski’s pallid script, with Kidman left to pull out inspired bits of pastry-driven character work where she can.

Nicole Kidman is the busiest woman in Hollywood, full-stop. Between the stylists activated for press tours and the entertainment writers (that's us) tracking her movements, this woman is generating her own freestanding economy.