Babygirl tells the story of Romy (Nicole Kidman), a high-powered CEO that runs her coporation with authority and confidence. Married to a loving husband with a daughter of her own, Romy has wealth, power and yet feels like she’s missing something. Things change, however, when Samuel (Harris Dickenson) arrives. Applying to the company’s intern program, Samuel immediately catches Romy’s attention and sparks fly between them. As the two begin a torrid affair, Romy begins to question whether unleashing her unbridled sexual needs is worth sacrificing her family and professional career for in the process.
Directed by Halina Reijn, Babygirl is a steamy thriller that grips the viewer but also threatens to undercut its own advances. Without question, the biggest strength to the film is the incredible tension between Dickenson and Kidman. Together, the two absolutely set the screen ablaze with carnal heat. Although Kidman is no stranger to sexual thrillers, her performance as Romy is simply stunning. In every scene, the legendary actress feels present and focused. Romy is a particularly complicated role to play. Blurring the lines sexually, she requires strength and raw emotional brokenness simultaneously but Kidman gives herself over to the moment.
In many ways, the film feels like a throw-back to the sexual thrillers of the 80s and 90s. (In fact, Rejin even includes needle drops that echo the era, such as INXS’s Never Tear Us Apart.) During that time, films like Disclosure, Basic Instinct and Body Heat were stories about gender and power as they usually dealt with a powerful male figure whose ego causes them to lose their way. Now, in Babygirl, Rejin appears to reverse the trend by placing Kidman in the role of CEO and Dickenson takes on the role of lowly intern. However, at the same time, Babygirl still struggles to push the genre forward in its conversations about consent and, potentially, threatens to push it backwards instead.
Babygirl is playing at TIFF ’24. For more information, click here.
