The Bloody True Story Behind This Chilling Nicole Kidman Role

The Big Picture

• Nicole Kidman’s character in
  To Die For
  Suzanne Stone, has an obsession with fame and ruthlessly pursues celebrity at any cost.
• To Die For
  was inspired by the scandalous real-life killing of Gregory Smart, implicating Pamela Smart.
• Pamela Smart was unimpressed by
  To Die For
  criticizing its portrayal of her as flaky and narcissistic.

Some say that any publicity is good publicity, and in a digital age of democratized media allowing for shameless self-promotion and the manipulation of perception, the pathway from anonymity to fame has become increasingly accessible. Though she predates the era of social media and the smartphone, the subject of Gus Van Sant‘s 1995 satirical thriller, To Die Foris no exception to the human tendency to crave attention. Played by Nicole Kidman in what may be her greatest performance to date, Suzanne Stone is singularly focused and ruthless in her ambitionembodying an attitude and mindset hellbent on attaining celebrity at any cost. Prophetic in its exploration of such characters and themes, To Die For‘s source material — Joyce Maynard‘s 1992 novel of the same name — was itself inspired by a scandalous real-life crime that took place two years prior.

What Is ‘To Die For’ About?

Set in a small New Hampshire town, To Die For follows Suzanne Stone, a young, bright-eyed woman with big dreams of being on television. After marrying Larry Maretto (Matt Dillon) and securing a job reading weather reports at a local news station, Suzanne begins to work on a documentary about teenage life. The project sees her cross paths with local teens Jimmy (Joaquin Phoenix), Russel (Casey Affleck), and Lydia (Alison Folland), and before long, Suzanne’s marriage to Larry takes a back seat to her career aspirations. Deceitful and manipulative to a tee, she decides to have Larry killedenlisting the help of her hopelessly naive and impressionable teenage acquaintances. After a media firestorm engulfs the scene, placing Suzanne front and center in the white-hot spotlight of celebrity, a series of revelations brings everything to a screeching halt.

What Real-Life Crime Inspired ‘To Die For’?

In crafting her 1992 novel, novelist Joyce Maynard was inspired by the story of Pamela Smart. A Communication major out of Florida State University, Smart married Gregory Smart in 1989 and relocated to New Hampshire, aspiring to work in television as the next Barbara Walters. After taking a media coordination position with one of the state’s school districts, Smart’s marriage began deteriorating when she learned of her husband’s infidelity, and she soon entered into an affair with a 15-year-old student, Billy Flynn. Then, on May 1, 1990, the lifeless body of Gregory Smart was discovered in the couple’s condo, with police suspecting he’d been murdered during a burglary.

Though Pamela Smart admitted to no involvement in her husband’s death, local teenagers Pete Randall and Vince Lattime Jr., friends of Billy Flynn, confessed to authorities that she’d hatched a plan and paid them to kill Gregory. In addition to the teens’ claims, one of Pamela Smart’s friends agreed to wear a wire, capturing incriminating statements that would ultimately lead to Smart’s arrest on August 1, 1990. With the legal system and media circus closing in, the 22-year-old widow was suddenly thrust into a whirlwind of fame and notoriety.

What Happened to Pamela Smart?

After a highly publicized trial, Pamela Smart was convicted for her involvement in Gregory Smart’s murder on March 22, 1991. Receiving a life sentence, she was eventually transferred to Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in New York. For their part, the four teenagers who participated in Smart’s murder were ultimately paroled. Their early release has added fuel to the fire of public debate surrounding Pamela Smart’s conviction, with supporters arguing that the differing severity of punishment is an example of gender discrimination within the legal system. But Smart’s detractors maintain that she’s guilty and defend the punishment she received. Associate Attorney General Jeffrey Strelzin has written, “Her attempts to blame others for her incarceration are a reflection of not only her guilt but her inability to be rehabilitated.” As of 2023, Pamela Smart appears no closer to the possibility of parole.

What Did Pamela Smart Think of Nicole Kidman’s Performance in ‘To Die For?’

Despite the film’s warm reception by critics and moviegoers, and Nicole Kidman receiving particularly high praise for her performance, not everyone was thrilled with To Die For. While imprisoned at Bedford Falls in the mid-90s, Pamela Smart was able to watch the film inspired by her story, and her reaction was less than stellar. She would say in The Washington Post interview of the experience of seeing it, “It’s almost like when you see a car accident, and you think to yourself, ‘Why am I looking at this?’ Later, the reality sinks in that people actually believe that because they’ve seen it on TV.” Smart specifically took issue with the film’s characterization of herinsisting that it had further misaligned her already troubled reputation. “She portrayed me as flaky, like an airhead,” Smart said of Kidman’s performance. “In the movie, she came across as very narcissistic. I’m so not that way at all.”

‘To Die For’ Features One of Nicole Kidman’s Best Performances

Putting her versatile talents to great use, Nicole Kidman’s turn in To Die For remains a shining example of the actress flexing her performative muscles. Chewing up the scenery from beginning to end, she appears to relish playing such a multifaceted and ultimately sinister character. Full of contradiction, varying shades of personality, and ever-shifting temperaments, Suzanne Stone’s enigmatic nature gives Kidman an opportunity to display her versatility, comedic chops, and an unsettling sense of menace lurking beneath a seemingly idyllic surface. This is one of the performative beats she hits so well, performing within a performance, and layering Suzanne with levels of external presentation that often suggest ulterior motives and desires. As viewers, it’s feasible that we never see a truly authentic version of the character, and as Stone frequently breaks the fourth wall throughout the film, it begins to feel as though she’s got us wrapped around her finger.

‘To Die For’s Suzanne Stone Is a Familiar Archetype in the Influencer Age

When To Die For was released in 1995, reality TV was still in its early days, but Nicole Kidman’s portrayal of a woman obsessed with fame and celebrity is arguably more pertinent now than it was nearly three decades ago. Suzanne Stone would be right at home in today’s democratized, self-promoting media landscapelikely hosting her own show or creating content on platforms like YouTube. While not a direct or literal translation of Pamela Smart, the character is a satirical, larger-than-life caricature serving as a microcosmic representation of media obsession, and the meticulously constructed perception of individuals in the public eye. At a time when society’s unhealthy fixation on getting attention, positive or not, seems to only grow more pernicious and relentless, Stone is strikingly recognizable as a modern archetype, possessing the vanity and cynicism that’s all too recognizable in our current influencer culture.