Suzanne Stone Maretto, To Die For (1995)
Deadly weathergirl Suzanne is arguably Nicole’s most notorious performance. The blonde bombshell’s breezy ambition and black widow guile enchant both her audience and her vulnerable pupils into absolute submission. Gus Van Sant’s pitch black comedy sees Suzanne trapped in an unfulfilling marriage to nice guy Larry (Matt Dillon) and a frustrating relationship with his noisy, loving family. They want her to settle down, have a few bambinos and keep a cozy home. Suzanne, by contrast, wants to misplace her husband, land her dream job as a news anchor and live fabulously ever after.
Having crow-barred herself a role at the local TV station, while she waits for the networks to come knocking, Suzanne decides to better her chances of quality screen time by shooting vox pops at the local high school. Boredom, and a darker ulterior motive, catapult her into an affair with Jimmy (Joaquin Phoenix) one of a trio of slacker students enchanted by their vibrant new teacher. When she begins to confide her husband’s mean streak and begs for Jimmy to save the day, the poor confused teen cannot help but comply. In one stand out scene she leaps out of a car to dance for him in the rain – magnificent in a cloud print cotton dress and spot lit by headlights – her infectious, childlike, joy the closest Suzanne ever comes to expressing genuine emotion.
Often speaking directly to camera, in interviews for the film’s documentary format, Kidman portrays Suzanne (based on real life murderess Pamela Smart) as both abused woman and seductress, victim and perpetrator, pragmatist and fool. It is a virtuoso performance – a mille-feuille of personality disorder and delusion teetering beneath an unfaltering saleswoman’s smile.
