It’s alleged that Nicole Kidman may have possibly have had work done on her face, notably Botox. Allegedly.

Now that Nicole has a new film coming out, her performance will be under scrutiny, as will the movability of her face, according to critic Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly magazine.

Next month Nicole Kidman stars in Rabbit Hole, the sad drama about a couple quietly falling apart after the accidental death of their 4-year-old son. She plays a grieving wife and mother opposite Aaron Eckhart as her husband; Dianne Wiest is her mother. The movie’s opening is some weeks away (it’s in limited release Dec. 17), but I can already anticipate two consequences in the national chatter: First, there will be prognostication about Nicole Kidman’s chances for an Oscar nomination. Second, there will be talk about Nicole Kidman’s face.

[Entertainment Weekly, print edition, December 3, 2010]

Nicole is known for her porcelain skin, but lately it seems as if she’s gone to extremes to keep it wrinkle-free. Allegedly. And to give an Oscar-worthy performance, shouldn’t an actress be able to express grief through subtle movements of her face besides fake tears?

This debate is a polarizing one for Hollywood. How an actress looks off the screen is often as scrutinized as her performance in a film, and in this day of instant digital cameras that get so close you can count nose hairs, some actresses have seemingly become addicted to trying to look youthful and instead look freakish. Right, Nicole? Allegedly.

For what it’s worth, Kidman’s famous features do move — a little more — in Rabbit Hole. By whatever methods she has employed, the actor currently looks somewhat softer and a little more natural, playing a woman nearly catatonic with grief. And insofar as increased facial pliability will expand her work options, refocus critical attention on her considerable acting skills, and get Internet snark off her case and back where it belongs on the cases of talentless celebutards with plastic-surgery addictions, I say, Great! Show us your flaws, Nic! So you at your “worst” are better than we are on our very best days!

…The fact is, physical enhancement is as much a professional requirement for an actor aspiring to Hollywood fame as strength training is for an athlete aiming for the NFL. With the pressures on movie stars (particularly female), first by an industry (particularly male) that pays lip service to “reality” while obsessively promoting what’s young and hot, and in turn by us, the audience, it’s a wonder more actors, both male and female, don’t lose sight of what’s right and natural about their own bodies.

[Entertainment Weekly, print edition, December 3, 2010]

Maybe life with husband Keith Urban and daughter Sunday has chilled Nicole Kidman out so that she’s starting to realize how lovely she is without Botox and lip-plumpers. Allegedly.

“Nic listened to her heart against people’s advice and even her own instincts,” he [Urban] says of her standing by him. “I can’t put into words how I feel about what she did. My life is one thank-you to her….There wouldn’t be Sunny without Nic, because she really saved my life, so my instincts are for Nic to know she’s the No. 1 girl in my life and Sunday is No. 2,” he says. “Mom and Dad have got to be tight with each other — otherwise the whole thing’s unbalanced.”

[People, print edition, December 6, 2010]

I think Nicole is one of the most talented actresses working today, and I’ve always thought it was a shame she feels the need to Botox her face into a blank wall. Allegedly. I’ve admired the way she carries herself although she admits that red carpets scare her to death. The Others is one of my favorite scary movies, and I wish her all the happiness with Keith that she had sucked from her soul by Tom Cruise. So, to echo Lisa Schwarzbaum, ease up, Nicole, on trying to look like all those 20-year-olds trying to make names for themselves — you can act circles around the Gossip Girls and 90210s.

Rabbit Hole opens in limited release December 17, just in time for Oscar season.