Halina Reijn’s erotic thriller, Babygirl, arrives soon and despite it’s overt sexiness, has a lot to say about the nature of desire, love, and making oneself whole.
After making waves at the festival circuit, Babygirl arrives in theaters this Christmas for everyone to check out. If you’ve seen the trailers, or read the synopsis, you may think you know what you’re getting into, but what makes Babygirl so interesting, is how unexpected it can be.
Babygirl
Directed By: Halina Reijn
Written By: Halina Reijn
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Antonio Banderas, Harris Dickinson, Sophie Wilde
Release Date: December 25, 2024
Ostensibly, it feels like it could be a “typical” drama about people in power having an affair. The film follows Romy Mathis (Nicole Kidman), who’s a highly successful CEO, with a loving husband (Antonio Banderas) who directs stage plays, and two kids they clearly love and enjoy hanging out with. In a lot of ways, it seems that she has it all, and all together.
When she becomes entranced by a new intern, Samuel (Harris Dickinson), who is significantly younger than she is. His straightforward demeanor and preternatural ability to sense her most basic desires unlocks something Romy felt was safely hidden away. The result is a torrid affair that threatens to consume Romy’s life in unexpected ways, threatening all she holds dear.
On the surface, it seems like something we’ve seen before, just told in a different way. The way it all unfolds, however, makes it anything but typical or cliche. It’s a far more intimate story about Romy coming to terms with herself and who she is. The idea it’s never too late to embrace those aspects that make you...you. In this way, the film isn’t so much about Romy’s steamy affair with Samuel. Nor about the potential for disaster when such power dynamics come into play—regardless of the consensual nature of things. It’s not even about the consequences resulting from the fallout of such an affair, and the scandal it could cause a women in her position.
It touches on all of these elements in interesting ways, but ultimately, the film is about Romy coming to terms with her own needs and desires. Coming to understand the things she thought were the “worst” parts of her—things to be hidden away due to her unusual childhood—aren’t as unnatural as she fears. Rather, she’s allowed to find pleasure in the way she chooses and still be the person she wants to be. Even happier.
Of course, this doesn’t really excuse her behavior, nor how it ultimately affects her family…Which makes for another engaging element to this film. Personally, I’m all about monogamy. That’s me and always has been (no shade to polyamorists out there), and the idea of cheating has always been abhorrent to me. And yet, Babygirl goes to great length’s to show how this affair with Samuel manages to even improve her life at home. We see her happier and more of as the wife and mother she wants to be. It’s only when something unexpected, potentially threatening the secret balance she’s created, pops up that cracks begin to show.
In finally accepting, and fulfilling, the needs she’d shunned, Romy comes off as more whole/complete and that’s something special to see unfold. You can’t help but feel for her and cheer at her progress, even as things begin to fall apart. I never would have imagined myself rooting for someone in this particular circumstance, and I this conflict between the morals of infidelity and the joy of accepting oneself is very much intentional.
In keeping this laser focus on Romy’s personal journey rather than the consequences of it all, Babygirl manages to avoid falling into any specific trope/cliche. It forces you to confront ideas of sexuality in a different way. How it pushes norms without being inherently taboo; while analyzing the necessity of engaging in healthy (albeit hard) conversations about what you need/want with your partner.
The result is a film I’m not entirely sure I “liked,” but definitely one I haven’t been able to stop thinking about. On a technical level, Babygirl is firing on all cylinders. The acting from all of the leads is incredible and complemented by some stellar editing work and a soundtrack that manages to expertly encapsulate the emotions you see play out on screen. There’s a whole lot to love about this movie and it’s far more than the über sexiness it’s wrapped in.
