Reel Review: The Erotic Thriller is Back Thanks to Nicole Kidman’s Performance in Babygirl
After making it to the top, high power tech CEO Romy (Nicole Kidman) starts an affair with an intern (Harrison Dickinson) which threatens her family, career, and marriage.
It has been quite a while since an erotic thriller has had such a wide release and positive reception. Drawing in a younger audience with Dickinson’s casting has revived what seems like an overlooked and underused genre. A24 has been known as a studio willing to take risks and while Babygirl may feel like a big swing, it also derives from a lot of previously successful films.
Nicole Kidman is utterly outstanding in this movie. Her long and successful career has allowed her to take on some boundary pushing roles, and this one is no exception. She dives in head first into the role of Romy who starts out as a put together, high maintenance, confident, and fearless leader. She gives into the pressures of being a woman in a male dominated field by going through a strenuous beauty regimen to keep up appearances. That facade quickly crumbles when Samuel senses something within her that she desperately tries to conceal.
While Romy understands appropriate boundaries, it is Samuel who starts to push towards a more emotional and physical relationship between the two. As if they are playing a game, the two go back and forth, showing their desire and then concealing it. Once the duo give in and attempt to explore an untraditional and sexual relationship, it starts off rocky and at times uncomfortable. It is clear that Romy wants more, but as a woman who has internalized guilt and shame around sexuality, she finds it difficult to open up. Samuel, seeks out being in a position of control and enjoys being somewhat of a puppet master, though it is something that is new to him. The two begin to work through a new kind of sexual relationship that is both awkward and clunky but driven by desire.
While many of the scenes garnered giggles of discomfort, it is clear that the not so smooth nature of their encounters is more reflective of real life than the facade of perfection usually seen in movies. Those moments of discomfort are about vulnerability and pushing ones self to try something new. For women, there is a lot of shame when it comes to making requests or demands in the bedroom, which is reflected in Romy’s hesitance to conform to Samuel’s demands. This idea of disconnection between female pleasure and the ability to ask for what she wants comes to a climax when Samuel requests that she undresses in the fully lit hotel room. Her apprehension is is a culmination of expectations that are put upon women and their bodies by society. Samuel is able to comfort her and make those judgemental thoughts subside through his acceptance and appreciation of her body.
Babygirl is an expose on power dynamics, wether that is related to age, career, gender, or even in terms of giving one’s secrets away to another. The entire film is the trading of power, which for these two is a game but also a part of the desire to keep seeing one another. Samuel seems to have more power by the end of the movie yet has no intention of using it against her. Romy is the party with more to lose with a career, family, and marriage on the line which makes things even that more interesting and tantalizing for her. While Babygirl isn’t the epitome of female empowerment, it does spark a much needed conversation around female pleasure and desires that has been historically silenced by the domineering voices and demands of men.
Babygirl is in theaters now.
