“Do you like being told what to do?”
Watching the trailer for Babygirl, it would seem that the premise of the new erotic thriller from writer/director Halina Reijn would lend itself to a flurry of social commentary. Theories on power dynamics, male/female relationships, age gaps, and the expectations of women who rise to the top of their fields all seem ripe for exploration here; explored they are with the daring curiosity necessary to make it all work. Reijn’s film looks at all of these factors from the vantage point of today in a manner whose truthfulness is matched by its upfront nature. But Babygirl is more than just a reiteration of the social politics and mores of the day, it’s a tale of desire, of identity, and what happens when one woman finds herself facing both of those forces within her.
In Babygirl, successful CEO Romy (Nicole Kidman) is at the top of her professional game but is feeling personally unsatisfied when it comes to her sexual self, despite a healthy marriage to Jacob (Antonio Banderas). When a new crop of interns introduces Romy to Samuel (Harris Dickinson), a game of seduction begins with the former finding herself amid a powerful affair that’s all at once thrilling and terrifying.
On its surface, Babygirl is less about exploring the kind of sexual terrain most would never have entertained before than it is about uncovering the side of oneself that’s drawn to that world. Reijn’s film is about the effects of yearning for what you don’t have, the craving one develops towards the scary, exciting, and unknown, and what kind of person you might be in that world. This is a movie whose main focal points are the desires within that aren’t satisfied and how they manifest themselves in a woman who should, again, on the surface, be completely satisfied. Romy is the perfect vessel for this kind of human exploration. Upon immediately meeting her, we recognize a stifling quality within that she’s learned to live with, if for no other reason because embracing it helps to mask the lack of completeness she feels. Romy is a great character from the get-go as she is the perfect illustration of someone alive, but never existing as her true self, making her journey incredibly involving and even relatable at times.
By the time Babygirl reaches its impressive third act, the film shifts from the dangers of suppressing one’s true desires to the danger of what happens when these wants and instincts are unleashed. When the reality of getting what you really want and having those desires fulfilled comes to light, the inevitable question becomes: What comes after? For Romy, there is the need to maintain and sustain it, something which is out of her hands as Samuel has made it quite clear that he holds all the cards in their dark arrangement. Yet the side of Romy that has been awakened remains so consuming and overpowering, that she eventually finds herself battling the desires she longed to have satisfied. Amid this journey she’s taken is the need to protect her reputation and her relationship with her family, especially once the walls begin to close in on her. Once that starts to happen, we see Romy still having to hide your true self yet again.
Kidman once again delivers perfection. The actress has cultivated a collection of roles based on her willingness to explore the darker sides of the subconscious (most of which frighten other actresses) and the scary and exciting places Kidman takes Romy to is yet another worthwhile journey for the actress. Dickinson proves a great playmate for Kidman in the acting department, oozing intrigue in every scene but also remaining fiercely guarded with Samuel to ensure he remains a mystery. Elsewhere, Banderas manages some stellar moments, while Sophie Wilde as Romy’s executive assistant ends up being a surprising standout.
If there’s one aspect about Babygirl that surprised me about it after the fact, was the realization that it wasn’t the most outwardly erotic film, at least not in the conventional sense. Yes, the movie has plenty of sex scenes featuring its two beautiful leads, but one would be hard-pressed to call them sexy. This had to have been one of the most instrumental choices Reijn made in crafting her film, and it was the right one. To shoot Babygirl‘s love scenes in a style that would have echoed classic Hollywood fare we’ve seen before would have been to shortchange it. Reijn wasn’t interested in sexy per se; she was curious about the boldness and rawness of the world she was delving into and what she was looking for. Suffice it to say, she found it.
