Nicole Kidman Gets Oscar Buzz For Paperboy: Her Best And Worst

Though the film, directed by Lee Daniels, has earned mixed reviews, Kidmans gritty role is getting nearly unanimous praise.

David Morgan of CBS News calls her performance one of the most uninhibited seen on screen in recent years.

Betsey Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times praises Kidman for being a force of nature, more vulnerable, more sensual than she has ever been. The control you usually see in her performances has been thrown to the wind, and the freedom she exudes is intoxicating

As awards season approaches, Indie Wire lists Kidman as a possible Oscar contender for Best Supporting Actress.

Over the years, Kidman has given remarkable performances in a number of highly acclaimed films. Yet within the last decade, she has chosen several projects that have fared poorly with critics and audiences alike.

Heres a look back at some of Kidmans most memorable -- and most forgettable -- projects.

Kidmans Career Highlights

Rabbit Hole (2010): Kidmans touching portrayal of a suburban woman grappling with the death of her 4-year-old son earned her a Best Actress Oscar nomination. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, the film successfully avoids drifting into melodramatic territory due to Kidmans understated yet heartbreaking performance.

The Hou! rs (2002) Kidman won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance as Virginia Woolf in the star-studded drama. In the film, based on Michael Cunninghams novel, the actress undergoes a remarkable transformation (with the help of facial prosthetics) to play the brilliant but mentally ill author who drowned herself in 1941.

Claudia Puig of USA Today praised Kidmans performance, noting that she strikes just the right chords as a troubled artist seeking inspiration and grappling with madness.

The Others (2001) Kidman earned raves for her performance in the artful haunted-house film set in post-World War II England. As a grieving widow with two young children who need constant monitoring, Kidman is stern but sympathetic. When ghostly figures begin to haunt her, she effectively conveys feelings of terror and isolation.

Ms. Kidman embodies (her characters) unstable amalgam with a conviction that is in itself terrifying, said A.O Scott in the New York Times. The icy reserve that sometimes stands in the way of her expressive gifts here becomes the foundation of her most emotionally layered performance to date.

Moulin Rouge! (2001)