Nicole Kidman in Chanel at Cannes ‘Venus’ premiere: unflattering or lovely?

Here are some extra photos from various Cannes Film Festival premieres over the past few days. Sorry, I sort of got overwhelmed by the magnificence of Tilda Swinton (and to a lesser degree, Tom Hiddleston). Here is Nicole Kidman in Chanel at the Saturday premiere of Venus In Fur. I don’t like the overall look, but I’ll admit that it looks better depending on the angle. In motion, it looks decent, and from the side… that’s probably the best look. But straight-on, not so much. The plates or whatever at the bottom of the dress sort of resembles deconstructed peacock feathers, I guess? Also: Nicole’s styling sucks here. Her hair is a mess!

Marion Cotillard in Dior at the Friday premiere of The Immigrant. This Dior gown reminded me a lot of Jessica Chastain’s Versace “High Priestess of Sapphires” gown earlier last week, although I guess I sort of like this Dior better. It has a ruffle on the side and it looks really beautiful in the back view. But I hate the oversized bust thing.

Zhang Ziyi in Elie Saab. Boring dress is boring.

Emmanuelle Seigner (Roman Polanski’s wife!) in a custom Alexandre Vauthier low-cut silk jersey gown at last night’s premiere of Venus In Fur, which was directed by Polanski. God, is this the trashiest thing you’ve ever seen?

Photos courtesy of WENN.

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70 Responses to “Nicole Kidman in Chanel at Cannes ‘Venus’ premiere: unflattering or lovely?”

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  1. oivey says:

    I’m pretty certain that Nic is still messing with her face.

    • lamamu says:

      Not sure if she is or isn’t. Could there still be residue botox in there? Regardless, this is the absolute best her face has looked in years.

      • oivey says:

        I think she looks kinda waxy or like if you ran a finger across her cheek it’d make a squeaky noise.

      • Sabrine says:

        Nicole’s face is looking much more relaxed these days….lovely. She is a beautiful presence at Cannes, giving it class and elegance.

        The dress is her only miss so far. She’s allowed one mistake!

    • VioletCrumble says:

      Definitely. She is looking more like Kylie Minogue every day – waxen, frozen and utterly fake little-girly.

  2. Deb says:

    Omg what is wrong with Polanski’s wife wearing a dress like that with those sagging boobs???? I can’t unsee that.

    • lisa2 says:

      I guess you didn’t see the picture of the dress opened and her red undies were showing as well.

      Some people just try too hard.

    • Elly says:

      exactly! it´s terrible.

    • JennJ says:

      Horrible. Although, to her credit, you’d have to have a pretty strong ability to live in denial-land to be Roman Polansky’s wife.

      • bettyrose says:

        or just lack all self-respect, and the dress doesn’t really contradict that theory.

      • stellalovejoydiver says:

        Ugh, he is such a fucking scumback. Did you read his recent remarks in Cannes?

        “I think the pill has greatly changed the women of our times, masculinizing them.There are other elements,” he added. “I think it chases away the romance from our lives and that’s a great pity.”

        “I think it’s a pity that now offering flowers to a lady becomes indecent,” Polanski said. “That’s how I feel about it.

    • don't kill me i'm french says:

      if you saw her movie “venus in fur”,you can understand the dress! (trashy but accurate for the movie)

      OT: according to the french gossipers,Kidman is mean with her assistants(they’re totally disorganized and she loses much time so she’s often in late and she hates it) and Octavia Spencer is a bitch with the waiters,the journalists ,the publicists and the fans (“don’t talk me/don’t look me”)

    • Christina says:

      I’m trying to think of a single thing about that look which I don’t hate.

      Sorry, I can’t think of one. This is perhaps THE ugliest red carpet look I have ever seen. Seriously. And you’d never believe that Emanuelle is about the same age as Nicole Kidman (botox and all) and several years younger than Julianne Moore or Sharon Stone. It’s just a horrible, tacky look.

    • nc_magnolia says:

      My eyes, they burn!!!

      All of the ladies look gorgeous, except for Polanski’s wife. Would a little lift and support have killed her? How about some double-sided tape? Please. What happens when actresses refuse to age gracefully.

      I must respectfully disagree about Nicole. I think she looks amazing fresh and unbotoxy here. I get it when some of you guys bash her for incessant flat-ironing. But here, her relaxed up-do is incredibly flattering and youthful without the try hard. Poor Nicky, she just can’t win. Lol.

  3. MojoRising says:

    What the fudge with that dress? And the make-up? Horrible.

  4. lisa2 says:

    I don’t get why the female Cannes judges are so out there all the time. Diane Kruger did the same thing last year. I don’t like it. I know Nicole has to go to the screenings but I think she is kind of making it about her and not the other actors who are actually in the film.

    and I actually love Zhang Ziyi dress. I think it is very beautiful. Maybe if her hair was down/longer and she wore more dramatic earrings..it would pop more. but I do love the dress.

    I think Marion look here is boring and MEH

    • Leah says:

      I agree about Nicole being everywhere, see my post below.

    • Christina says:

      I love Elie Saab, I love Zhang Ziyi (her looks that is, not necessarily her acting skills or her personality) and I love lavender. So I should love her dress. But somehow, I don’t. Maybe it’s because we’ve seen so many similar Elie Saab gowns on the red carpet that, beautiful though they are, they’ve become almost boring. And also, I think the colour doesn’t suit Ziyi’s skin tone – either that, or the photos aren’t doing justice to it, and the colour is perhaps much more vivid in real life. In any case, for some reason I’m not crazy about this dress.

      • Bread and Circuses says:

        I think it’s a delicate, pretty dress on a delicate, pretty actress but somehow–yeah. The whole look is blander than a piece of paper.

    • Nina says:

      I think ziyi dress is beautiful as well and she has perfectly styled it. It has old style glamour and restraint.

  5. Holly says:

    As I was scrolling down I honestly thought Polanski’s wife was Heidi Klum, oy.

  6. Lady Satan says:

    NK’s dress would have been lovely without the feather bit and the red shoes. Both seem like try-hard afterthoughts. If she’d gone with different shoes and plucked her dress, it would have looked fab.

  7. Azurea says:

    Nicole’s dress is an atrocity to design. Now if you said Stella McCartney had designed it, I’d believe you!

  8. JennJ says:

    Eesh Nicole with the side boob! You are better than that! Plus the whole think fits funny.

    Also that bottom thing makes me think of a combo of Cruella de Ville and Chalize Theron in “Snow White and the Huntsman.” I am not sure if I think it’s funny or just silly. Certainly not elegant.

    • the original bellaluna says:

      Makes me wonder what happened to the rest of that poor falcon! (Or owl, or bald eagle…you get it.)

  9. Jane says:

    Kidman’s dress looks like someone had to do something on a bet and the dress lost. The bottom does not even look like it belongs and is tacky. It looks like it was stuck on so the black and white trend could continue.

    Cotillard’s dress looks like fancy armour with that breast plate in the front. That red thing would not look good on a 25 year old model. Basically a whole lot of ugly on the carpet.

  10. Charlotte says:

    Zhang Ziyi’s face is so lovely, she doesn’t need an ornate dress.

  11. Decloo says:

    My God! Nicole’s dress is the worst I’ve seen this whole awards season. And the hair? Did she drive over in a convertible at high speed?

  12. Leah says:

    Can someone please tell me why Nicole is all over Cannes. Actually it seems she is always on red carpets whether its tv, movie or music awards more than any other A-list actresses. She also churns out movie after movie throughout the year.

    • Christina says:

      Nicole is a jury member at Cannes this year – that’s why she’s so prominent. Anyway, I’d rather see a talented actress like her than all the z-listers and L’Oreal ‘ambassadors’ that seem to be everywhere at Cannes this year.

    • Liv says:

      Nicole is SUPPOSED to be everwhere! I also think they want her to dress up and bring glamour to the festival.

    • Leah says:

      Ok so she is supposed to be everywhere? Is it because she is a member of the jury? I don’t know much about Cannes.

      • Liv says:

        She has to see as much of the films as possible to choose a winner in the end, so she attends many premieres. I also think they always have one or two members in the jury who bring glamour to the festival in order to have media attention.

        You see, it’s her job being everywhere. This and the fact that Christoph Waltz, Steven Spielberg and Ang Lee are not that photogenic…;-)

      • LAK says:

        Cannes always likes to have a BIG media star on the Jury whose additional job is to make the competition look glamourous. This year, it’s NK. Last year it was Diana Kruger. The Jurors, in general, have to give publicity to the festival as it is happening which isn’t always picked up since the ‘glamour Juror’ tends to become the focus.

        The official premieres of the ‘in competition’ films, which the Jurors have to attend, tend to bring out the gossip media. Depending on gossip pedigree of the other jurors, the gossip media will take their pictures or not.

        There isn’t alot of gossip media at the other competitions running concurrently eg ‘uncertain regard’ or ‘critics week’ or ‘directors’ fortnight’. I think this year ‘uncertain regard’ received a lone mention because Rooney Mara showed up for a premiere.

        There are premieres taking place several times a day for all sorts of films, not just the official ones ‘in competition’. Gossip media reports which attendees they think will sell to their audience regardless of credentials. otherwise the other films are mentioned in the usual industry media.

        Finally, the Jurors are allowed to attend premieres of films they want to support publicly even if they aren’t ‘in competition’.

  13. j.eyre says:

    I am not a fan of Nicole’s dress but I actually like her hair. The color is not my favorite but I love the messy up thing.

    Zhang Ziyi is so lovely.

    And, as a bonus for my Sunday – some PocketRen all cleaned up… *sigh*

    • bettyrose says:

      Agree on just about all counts . . . also, I go out with my hair looking like that all the time, so let’s call it fashion!!

    • Liv says:

      I like her hair too. The dress is okay, but I hate the belt. Ugh!

    • lucy says:

      Love the loose (for a change) hairdo on Kidman, and her makeup. That molting dress however is lousy.

      I like that Kidman resembles Ellyn Burstyn here.

      Zhang Ziyi is so beautiful! Her dress is unmemorable, but that’s okay because she is not.

    • NEENAZEE says:

      ITA… her hair looks pretty and soft, which is a nice change from all the flat-ironing. But the dress is terrible, laughable, insane.

  14. Jayna says:

    Nicole’s face looks beautiful. The dress is awful.

    • ya says:

      Ya her face lately has been looking consistently better than it has in years… Have her eyes always been that hooded though?

      I really like Zhang Ziyi’s dress – didn’t think it was boring at all.

  15. Miss M says:

    I think I am the only one who likes Nicole’s style. Well, with the exception of the side boob.

    Emmanuelle Seigne’s style (if you can call that) is just wrong… Everybody else looks great.

  16. mandalala says:

    i sort of like nicole’s hair this time. i feel like she usually has it pulled extremely tight or styled very smooth, and so this is different. i think this style actually makes her look a bit younger. i don’t think she’s totally pulling it off–too too messy–but i like what she’s going for

  17. Boxy Lady says:

    I actually like all of Nicole’s outfit: the hair style works for her, the red shoes pop, not bothered by the side boob, and I find her dress intriguing, in a good way.

    As for Mrs. Polanski’s look, that is an atrocity of which I cannot speak.

  18. lucy says:

    Mrs. Polanski’s boob curtains need to be closed.

  19. The Original G says:

    Way too much make-up Nicole. An the hair so fussy. Both are very aging. Relax a bit, you’re beautiful. Her outfit is so prissy on top of it. It makes me uncomfortable just looking at her.

  20. taxi says:

    Why do I like Nic’s messy hair but not the mess of a dress? She needs earrings with this.

    Ziyi is so lovely I’d admire her even wrapped in newspaper.

    Marion’s dress is odd/blah but her hair & makeup are lovely.

    Emmanuelle has really messed with her face – a couple of years ago, she was really pretty. Her dress should never have left the closet.

  21. janie says:

    Thumbs down on all of them!

  22. Janet says:

    Zhang’s dress isn’t boring at all; it’s actually very pretty.

    She seems like she’s a straight-up bitch, but I have to give her her acting chops. She’s pretty good on screen.

  23. Anise says:

    I don’t mind the flyaway hair look. It gets pretty boring when everyone looks like they used half a can of spray to make hair look like a helmet.

  24. Jaxx says:

    I used to love Nicole, but I barely recognize her anymore. She looks like one of those knock-off impersonators who go around impersonating the famous. And it’s not a good likeness at all. Her dress? Purely ridiculous. Those hanging black knee pads are just wrong, wrong, wrong, come on Nicole, we all know you can do much better than this. Lay off your poor face. I so wish I could see what she would really look like if she’d left her face alone, like others I could name who have aged gracefully.

  25. Blenheim says:

    To all those who think Nicole is not messing with her face anymore: I reckon Nicole is messing with her face (and rest of body) about 1/3 of her awake time. She just has better or worse luck with the results each time depending on what she’s done last and which plastic surgeon she used. And when she’s done messing with her face she starts messing with her husband’s face. It’s probably become a hobby by now: “How to mess with face as much as possible without looking like Jocelyn Wildestein so I can pose my ass off in Europe.” I just can’t with her anymore. Won’t watch anything with her either. I just can’t. It’s all about how goddamn pretty she is or isn’t and her red carpet appearances.
    Speaking of plastic surgery and the Polanski wife dress, this is what boobs are supposed to look like when plump, otherwise they are bolt ons. I wish I had her boobs!

  26. NEENAZEE says:

    I’m sure the chick in the red dress thought she looked like hot shit during the fittings.. and maybe in Switzerland or France she does. Generally speaking, Europeans are much kinder to their women as they age. Americans unrealistically expect everyone to have a hard body into their 60s or 70s, no droopage allowed. We suck!

  27. Amelia says:

    Nicole looks like a hot mess. She’s showing side boob because she bought boobs to show. Way too much makeup on Botoxed face. Dress is awful.

    Regarding Roman Polanski’s wife: she’s married to Roman Polanski, a man who cannot enter the U.S. without being arrested because he jumped bail after being arrested for having sex with a young teenager. So can we really expect anything more?

  28. Aud says:

    Sometimes I think Karl Lagerfeld needs to retire from Chanel.

  29. 4EvaRedd says:

    I understand Nicole does not go out in the sunlight, but her skin is almost pastey; on the other hand, she appears to have lost some of the botox. I do like her hair, so not Grace Kelly. Marion Cotillard looks lovely, as usual.

  30. Kosmos says:

    Omg…Nicole’s dress would be somewhat okay if it did not have those totally ridiculous side additions…simply ugly, sorry, but then Marion, on the other hand, looks stunning and very well dressed. Also, the low cut red number is also not a good choice, given the hanging breasts and too much information in general. I simply hate the super long and open V-necks, are they supposed to look appealing? This one sure missed the mark.

  31. Nibbi says:

    i really like kidman’s dress and hair (side-boob a little meh tho) and i think zang zhiyi is actually perfection here

  32. Jenn says:

    Nicole’s dress looks like an ostrich. I guess it is fitting. She’s Australian. I like her hair here. Loose contrasts with her tight face.

    Pedo Polanski is so gross..the wife’s bosom needs more support.

  33. VioletCrumble says:

    Gawd, what a parade of exhibitionists. Constantly preening, costume changes, makeup, hair styling, posing, “appearing”, fake smiles,….and all just to be photographed for trashy mags. Gah, I detest them all and the entire “industry”.

  34. Mia says:

    No one looks good here. Worst of all Nicole and Rapey Polanski’s wife.

  35. Simply Red says:

    U know I like Nicole K dress but not on her.. Her body isn’t for the dress other wise really like her as an actress