The film has divided opinions but it is a fact that Nicole Kidman is emerging as an Oscar favorite
“Being the Ricardos”, the dramatic film that captures the relationship between Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, from I Love Lucy is already giving a lot to talk about. And although opinions are divided, it is a fact that Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem fit the roles like a glove.
Many said that Kidman was not the best option to give life to the beloved Lucy, something that made her almost abandon the project. According to the actress, when she began to doubt herself, the same director, Aaron Sorkin, ended up convincing her that she was perfect.
"[I'm] a human being, so there's a moment where you're like, 'God, maybe I'm not the right person for this,'" Kidman told Today. “That's where having someone like Aaron [Sorkin, who directed and wrote the biopic], who actually said at the beginning, he was like, 'I don't want a perfect interpretation or imitation of Lucy. No no no no no.'"
Lucie Arnaz, Ball and Arnaz's daughter, praised Kidman's performance, adding that she managed to capture the "basic essence" of the TV star. “Nicole did a spectacular job,” Lucie Arnaz told The Palm Springs Life magazine in August.
The 54-year-old actress described Lucille Ball as a 'complex' woman, so she had to spend hours practicing her iconic 'voice', mannerisms and gestures. To achieve this, Kidman had training with a vocal coach who helped her achieve her perfect intonation.
'[It was a] crazy amount of hours working meticulously on the physicality, on the voice, on the movements, just learning the words,' Nicole told The Daily Telegraph.
According to Kidman, one of the challenges of playing Lucy was that she never knew much about her while she believed in Australia but when she got the role of Lucy, she found many similarities. “I loved to dance. He loved to dance. I saw in her the excess of strength in her, the hard, unstoppable drive in her to make things work, to move forward, to succeed. Her resilience in making and filming reminded me of my mother,” she said.
To achieve her look, the actress had a shocking physical transformation with prosthetics in her nose and mouth, but they also had to completely make up her eyebrows, something that changed her physiognomy.
In context, I Love Lucy is an American series that aired during the 1950s (1951-1957). This became one of the most popular, winning five Emmy awards and being broadcast in numerous countries. The genius that she showed throughout the seasons led her to continue being recognized even in these times. In 2007 the show was listed as one of the “100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME.”
The film becomes a “B side” of the story as it follows Ball and Arnaz during a complicated week of filming I Love Lucy, from the script readings to the closing of the recordings with a live audience. The drama also narrates fragments of the life of the famous couple.
The film premiered in New York City on December 7, 2021 and had an exclusive release in the United States on December 10, 2021. It was finally released worldwide on Prime Video on December 21, 2021.
