Babygirl (2024) A24/Drama RT: 114 minutes Rated R (strong sexual content, nudity, language) Director: Halina Reijn Screenplay: Halina Reijn Music: Cristobal Tapia de Veer Cinematography: Jasper Wolf Release date: December 25, 2024 (US) Cast: Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, Sophie Wilde, Antonio Banderas, Esther McGregor, Vaughan Reilly, Gaite Jansen, Izabel Mar, Victor Slezak, Anoop Desai.
Rating: *** ½
Let’s get this part out of the way. Yes, the sexual drama Babygirl is reminiscent of 9 ½ Weeks, Secretary and Fifty Shades of Grey. Out of the three, the only one that isn’t a joke is Secretary. Neither is Babygirl. It takes a serious, non-sleazy approach to a subject that makes a lot of people uncomfortable, sex.
Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge) stars as Romy Mathis, the CEO of a company that develops robotics for warehouse delivery systems. She’s also wife to theater director Jacob (Banderas, The Mask of Zorro) and mother to two teenage girls, Isabel (McGregor, High School) and Nora (Reilly, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes). She’s a busy woman, but it doesn’t appear to get to her. She handles everything life throws at her like a pro. That is, until he shows up on the scene.
He is Samuel (Dickinson, Beach Rats), a new intern at her company. Romy first encounters him when he saves her from a dog attack on a crowded city sidewalk. She’s put off by his attitude. He’s not like any intern she’s ever met. He insists on making her his mentor even though she’s not part of that program. He says inappropriate things during their first one-on-one. He sees her. He knows she wants to be told what to do. He wants to be the one to tell her what to do. They begin an affair in which she’s the submissive and he’s the dominant.
Up until now, Romy’s sex life has been unsatisfying. In the film’s opening minutes, we see Romy having sex with her husband. She’s not into it. When they’re done, she rushes into the other room and finishes herself off while watching porn. It’s the only way she can achieve an orgasm. Her affair with Samuel wakes something up inside of her. She loves how he asserts dominance over her.
Written and directed by Halina Reijn (Bodies Bodies Bodies), Babygirl is a compelling drama for ADULTS. Thank the movie gods for that! It’s like an oasis in a desert of dopey movies aimed at kids and teens of all ages- e.g. Sonic the Hedgehog 3. It kept my attention throughout and not for the reasons you might think. It’s interesting to observe the shifting of the power dynamics between boss and subordinate as the relationship progresses. I was also fascinated by the ripple effect of their illicit affair, how it affected others at the office and Romy’s family.
Kidman delivers an amazing performance as Romy, a woman whose past we know little about. She mentions growing up in a “commune cult”. It’s implied she experienced some kind of trauma. It’s never explained. Would it have better helped us to understand why Romy is so drawn to Samuel? I don’t think so. Just knowing something happened to her is plenty. Besides, Reijn only concerns herself with the here and now. Kidman understands that. She’s absolutely perfect as a woman of power who secretly wants to have power asserted over her. She captures all the right nuances and hits every beat.
Dickinson is also incredible as Samuel, a manipulative sort who knows how the sex game is played. It’s he who explains the idea of consent to Romy. This is a guy who knows how appealing he is to woman and wields it like a weapon. In one scene, he dances to George Michael’s “Father Figure” like everybody’s watching. We learn nothing about his past which is exactly the right move on Reijn’s part. He’s supposed to project mystery and possible danger. It’s Dickinson who really holds Babygirl together. If he botched it in any way, the film would have completely fallen apart.
Reijn gets everything right in Babygirl. The cinematography by Jasper Wolf perfectly captures the raw emotion in every scene. He blends light and shadow to create a world that’s almost dreamlike. The deadpan tone of the film augments the look of it. It doesn’t make light of its serious subject nor is it a voyeuristic piece filled with cheap thrills. It legitimately has something to say about control and submission, in sex and in life. The supporting cast does a fine job as well, especially Sophie Wilde (Talk to Me) as Romy’s assistant Esme and McGregor as the daughter in her first serious relationship with another girl. Banderas is quite good as the husband faced with his wife’s infidelity.
Make no mistake. Babygirl is not a light, fluffy cinematic puff piece. It’s definitely not a date movie. It’s a serious film for serious audiences. It’s the kind of film you talk about afterwards. It raises some interesting points about sex as power. It’s the perfect movie to watch while your kids are in the next theater watching Sonic. What parent wants to sit through that?
