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01/15/2025

Review of "Babygirl" - Power and Submission Under Female Direction


Review of "Babygirl": Power and Submission Under Female Direction | An erotic thriller directed by Halina Reijn where Nicole Kidman plays a CEO in a romance with a young intern. Despite its interesting approach to power and submission from a female perspective, the film fails to fully develop its premise or the chemistry between its leads.

There are five distinctive erotic thrillers in the genre: "In the Realm of the Senses" (1978) by Nagisa Ōshima; "Dressed to Kill" (1980) by Brian De Palma; "9½ Weeks" (1986) and "Fatal Attraction" (1987) by Adrian Lyne; and "Basic Instinct" (1992) by Paul Verhoeven. As you can see, all directed by men.

"Babygirl" draws inspiration from these films but is told from a distinctly female perspective, directed and written by a woman, Halina Reijn, with the protagonist truly at the center of the plot. Nicole Kidman stars, bringing a dual connotation to her role, as much of her career has involved characters dealing with erotic elements and sexual tensions. One might recall "Eyes Wide Shut", "Moulin Rouge", "Malice", "The Paperboy", or "The Killing of a Sacred Deer". Kidman has played provocative, manipulative women or those in complex marriages, but none with the liberating and uninhibited capacity this film allowed her.

In "Babygirl", she plays Romy Mathis, the CEO of a market-leading automation company. She exudes security, control, and serves as a role model for female leadership. She is a mother of two daughters and has been married to Jacob, a theater director, for 19 years. Each night she releases some tension through intimacy with her husband. This woman, leading an until then very ordinary, "normal", and enviable life, sees her stability disrupted by the arrival of an intern for whom she feels her primal instincts awaken. Samuel is an average-looking young man who chooses her as his mentor and soon discovers not only mutual attraction but also her vulnerability and desire to be dominated. This game that reignites Romy's days gradually causes her to lose control, risking her personal, family, and professional stability.

Focused entirely on this executive (with her husband, played by Antonio Banderas, her daughters, and much of her work environment merely as decoration), director Halina Reijn constructs a character that psychologists describe regarding the excitement of yielding control and how liberating voluntary submission can be.

Romy has maintained a marriage for nearly two decades without ever having an orgasm during this time. Risking what she has built over decades to experience true pleasure with a young man, rather than being madness - as society often views it - is an act of self-love and commitment, a "selfishness" she is willing to allow without affecting others. She is convinced she can manage it.

At its core, "Babygirl" is about demystifying idealized notions of female purity and inviolability, normalizing behaviors especially when they defy societal norms or what is considered bad. This feature film joins those productions from the last two years that offer a different, more human, and realistic view of women, where their capacity for malice or harm is neither hidden nor softened. Women also consume porn, have lustful thoughts, discuss sex with friends, masturbate, and seek infidelity while trying to get away with it.

While Romy's behavior might surprise some - and I say this because I saw it at a regular 6:30 PM screening with a considerable audience - what happens to this woman is not unreal. The director herself has said part of the script was inspired by a friend of a friend who never experienced an orgasm with her husband over 25 years of marriage. Nor in the psychological balance when fulfilling roles that are diametrically opposed in daily life.

However, Halina Reijn rushes the story. The first erotic encounter happens too quickly for the plot, making it hard to believe thereafter, especially given the high-profile nature of Romy's character, who, despite her desperation and desire, would likely be more cautious. The same applies to several encounters that lack a minimal build-up, maintaining a tone of strangeness and distance not entirely compatible with the reality the film aims to portray.

Part of this distance and coldness felt in these characters is evidently due to several factors: the age difference; the power dynamics (both in the workplace and in their game of dominance); professional interests; the fear of expressing desires to let go with all implications for her; and the fear of a young man from this generation unsure of what lines are acceptable (regarding consent). The other part lies in the fact that Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson do not fully achieve convincing chemistry, possibly more due to direction than the actors themselves, curiously perhaps from an intent to control the dynamics of these lovers, the scenes, and their narrative.

I mentioned that "Babygirl" draws from various genre references, and Kidman's role encapsulates the search for sexual awakening linked to loss of control (from "9½ Weeks"), the sexually and intellectually predatory personality (from "Basic Instinct"), or that liberating yet risky act (from "In the Realm of the Senses"). Containing all this in a female character, in a film told by a woman, makes it certainly interesting and entertaining, though it has issues with execution rather than conception.

With that said, I am surprised by the award for best actress (the Volpi Cup) that Kidman won at the Venice Film Festival, and the subsequent plethora of nominations she received. Again, it's not bad, but not that exceptional.

Technical Sheet



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