It´s sometimes so frustrating.
I wrote "I never saw Nicole in The Hours as well" and now you write that you didn´t feel that way and all...
Well in fact I do agree.
Like you, Virginia was Virginia and for me not even a second Nicole was viewable.
I hope you understood now what I meant. 
In fact, I sometimes think it´s rather cute to see an aspect of Nicole in one of her characters, but during the movie, I also try not to think about that, because I personally like to really "be" inside the story and forget anything else.
I hope I cleared all misunderstandings now!   

• Hot topics included Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jr. in Steven Shainberg's Fur, which is a dark, dazzling, almost magical look at the life of the fabled photographer Diane Arbus. Miss Kidman is said to give the performance of her career, with Downey not far behind. At a recent screening for reps who worked on the film and with the actors, the room exploded into a standing ovation as the final credits rolled. One who was there said, "A more jaded audience you cannot imagine. I have never seen such a thing in my life." Fur will be released in November via Picturehouse

I hope this is the right place to post this rather than start a new topic....
     
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/lifes...-artslife-today

I have one more picture here. Enjoy!
from allmoviephoto.com

Wow !!!! thank you soo much 4 the pic Marie!! Nic looks so cute!!!

The comment about the viewer always being aware of Nicole being Nicole might be an entirely personal and subjective thing - another viewer might disagree, so we shall be able to judge for ourselves soon enough.  (I honestly had problems "not" seeing Nicole when watching Cold Mountain, whereas I never saw anyone but Virginia when watching The Hours.  At first when watching The Human Stain I was distracted out by surfaces - the lipgloss, certain incongruities - and then as the film went on for me the performance just took over and I was swept up in Faunia's rage completely.)

I think the person was stating their opinion in an entirely respectful manner, anna.  A good and truly dedicated artist can take constructive criticism in the spirit in which it's intended - to learn and grow next time around.  This person has posted a balanced review (preview), stating what worked for them and what didn't.  That to me is a good critic.  A "bad" critic, to me, is one who is unhelpful, overly emotional, who attacks the artists or the subject and makes no attempt to meet it halfway, to understand what the filmmaker is trying to say.  I see none of that here.

I agree with you that it is her specialty to get "lost" in characters, but she is human and is not going to connect with every character she plays with equal success.  (She admitted as much in the interviews for The Stepford Wives - that Joanna was a character she had great difficulty "putting on".) That's part of what makes her filmography so interesting - I'd say we're all dedicated Nicole fans (if we're members of this board) but we don't all like the same films equally. we won't be touched or not by the same performances in the same way.

I very rarely see Nicole as Nicole in her characters, so much so, the avatars of her characters are driving me crazy. The other day I was watching the start of a montage (can't remember which one) and the picture from Red's avatar appeared and the first thought that came into my mind was,"what's Red doing in this!" :

Foxy's old avatar used to throw me as well....to me that was Foxy and not Nicole.

The other day I was watching the start of a montage (can't remember which one) and the picture from Red's avatar appeared and the first thought that came into my mind was,"what's Red doing in this!" :

I've had the same reaction many a time, actually. (And in fact, to this day I still find myself "looking" for Foxy's old avatar on the board, I associated that image from the Bewitched poster more strongly with "FriendlyFox" than I did/do with the movie itself.)

I´m dying to see this movie, I really do, I have at home the book on is based the movie, and it´s going to be my reading this summer...

Pd: Why I am the only one with personal avatar in here? lol