BABYGIRL (2024)

Genre: Erotic/ Thriller
Director: Halina Reijin
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, Antonio Banderas
Runtime: 1 hr 54 mins
Rating: R21 (Mature Theme and Sexual Scenes)
Released By: Encore Films
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 2 January 2025

Synopsis: A high-powered CEO puts her career and family on the line when she begins a torrid affair with her much-younger intern.

Movie Review:

‘Babygirl’ begins and ends with an orgasm. Lest you think that writer/ director Halina Reijn is out to challenge the ‘wokeness’ of our times with a sexually prurient thriller, let us reassure you that as erotic as it may get, this dramedy has a larger social message, although what you take away depends very much on your own worldview.

It says a lot about our times that ‘Babygirl’ would probably be roundly criticised had it been from a male director, so if it isn’t yet obvious, this is a movie that is cast entirely from the female gaze. Indeed, it is Nicole Kidman’s tech-company executive Romy whom we first see onscreen, faking her way through an orgasm with her devoted stage director husband Jacob (Antonio Banderas) before tiptoeing off to the next room, and with the help of a porn video, finishes the job herself.

As you might imagine, though she is very much the dom in her marital relationship, Romy has a different side to her, and it is when she encounters Samuel (Harris Dickenson) that she begins to let loose her carnal desires. On their first encounter, she watches with a mix of horror and awe as Samuel saves her from being almost attacked by a dog while on a public street, something about the way he bends the wild animal to his will that makes her take notice; and later when she asks how he did it, he simply says he keeps biscuits in his pocket.

Their meet-cute happens at an office Christmas party, where Samuel catches Romy smoking on the balcony, reminds her of their upcoming coaching session (which she had hitherto been unaware of) and returns to the office floor to dance with abandon after removing his tie. It only gets a lot more intimate from that point on, and like we said, if it wasn’t for Reijn, these subsequent encounters would most definitely have been criticised for being exploitative.

Yet with a no-holds-barred performance from Kidman, ‘Babygirl’ walks a fine line to stay on the right side of being provocative without ever becoming lascivious. Kidman has never been timid, but even then, she goes full on raw for one of her riskier acts. It is a journey of sexual liberation she readily and openly shares with us, one that starts with reticence and confusion, cycles through humiliation, shame and satisfaction, and ends full circle in self-loathing, reconciliation and ultimately empowerment.

It is somewhat refreshing that neither Romy nor Samuel fully know what they want or are prepared to get up to. Oh yes, Samuel isn’t out for some promotion, or for that matter to satisfy his own ego; indeed, it is telling that both of them are fumbling and funny in their early interactions together, discovering just how far they would like to take their unlikely but irresistible tryst. These scenes are no doubt riveting to watch, and we recommend seeing this with a partner you won’t feel squeamish or self-conscious with.

Their lurching rhythm plays out like a game of sexual domination and subjugation. In a seedy Lower East Side hotel room, Samuel asks Romy to crawl on all fours towards him to beg for a piece of candy in his hand. At a after-work drinks session, Samuel orders a glass of milk for Romy, and after defiantly downing the glass, he murmurs ‘Good girl’ to her. A subsequent encounter has her lapping up milk from a dish like a cat, before he lifts her in his arms dancing to George Michael’s ‘Father Figure’. It is a torrid affair all right, with a sado-masochistic charge that again attests to Kidman’s willingness to go bold and even naked (pun intended).

Amidst their back and forth, it is only in the last act that the movie widens its circle to include Jacob, albeit in ways that you probably weren’t expecting. Banderas, to his credit, never breaks with his supporting and supportive act, ever the loving husband and devoted father who remains the pillar of the family notwithstanding Romy’s indiscretions. There is also an interesting subplot that unfolds when Romy’s young assistant Esme’s (Sophie Wilde) discovers their illicit behaviour; we won’t spoil it for her, but suffice to say that it again is a reflection of our times that it doesn’t go the way you expect to – that is, for Esme to simply blackmail Romy for a promotion.

‘Babygirl’ is daring all right, but it never takes a gamble or pushes the boundaries just for the sake of doing so; rather, for us, it isn’t afraid to take apart the social correctness of feminism, to reveal the nuance, desire and vulnerability underneath the façade, as well as the inevitable consequences of succumbing to our inner carnal pleasures. Like we said, what you take away from it depends very much on your own worldview, but thanks to the honesty, stylishness and empathy in front and behind the camera, it is a compelling portrayal of gender and power dynamics.

Movie Rating:

(A no-holds-barred performance from Nicole Kidman powers this sexually charged thriller about desire, liberation and empowerment that will truly get under your skin)

Review by Gabriel Chong