Directed by Halina Reijn — Screenplay by Halina Reijn.
Arguably, one of Nicole Kidman’s most iconic films is the erotic mystery psychological thriller Eyes Wide Shut by auteur Stanley Kubrick. It is crazy to think that it’s been more than twenty-five years since its release. But now the time has come for Nicole Kidman to make her glorious return to the erotic thriller. Or, you know, that is the general idea with Babygirl from Bodies Bodies Bodies-director Halina Reijn. But is it actually the glorious return that we’re all hoping for? Well, let’s just say, I have thoughts.
Halina Reijn’s Babygirl is an erotic thriller that follows a well-off CEO of a tech company, Romy Mathis (played by Nicole Kidman). Romy is married to a prominent theater director, Jacob Mathis (played by Antonio Banderas), with whom she has two kids. All should be right in the world for Romy, but it just so happens that she is bothered by her and her husband’s sex life, which dissatisfies her. It is at this moment that someone new walks into her life. Samuel (played by Harris Dickinson) is a new intern at her company, who made a strong first impression on the streets of New York City and who had now selected her as his mentor in their mentorship program. Samuel is a very forward young man, who makes demands and assumptions about Romy, and soon he propositions her and starts to engage in a relationship centered around control and sexual satisfaction.
If you’re expecting this to be the second coming of Eyes Wide Shut, or, as I put it, a glorious return to erotic thrillers for its central star, then I think you’re setting yourself up to be disappointed. In this film about power dynamics in an age-gap affair where it’s the powerful woman who is interested in a submissive/dominant relationship with her much younger male intern, who sees right through her and knows that he can kill her career as easily as he can snap his fingers, there is frustratingly little-to-no actual thriller elements. Although it flirts with consequences, it becomes clear that the film is satisfied with not actually having any. It’s supposed to be risqué, thrilling, and riveting, but, in actuality, it is surprisingly straightforward, tame, and predictable. There is a repetitiveness to the start-and-stop nature of their dalliance, and it happens without actually upping the stakes. Whenever you think there might be a turn, that tension is deflated almost immediately, as supporting characters refuse to do anything about it, thus having the film end up feeling dramatically inert. This lack of tension makes it feel overlong and uneven, and I constantly thought back to films that either did the sub/dom hijinks/tension better (see Zachary Wigon’s Sanctuary) or did the age-gap older woman-younger man affair better (see Michael Haneke’s The Piano Teacher).
All of that isn’t to say that it’s a complete miss or a bad film, though. Although it fails to excite or create tension in new and meaningful ways, the film constantly looks phenomenal and the cast is uniformly capable. Nicole Kidman has gotten a lot of positive press over the fearlessness with which she throws herself at this role. I agree, she is quite good in a role that both asks her to be vulnerable when stripped naked and feature in scenes that have her do Botox (and moments later be ridiculed for it by her character’s eldest daughter). She does compelling work here, and the same can be said for Harris Dickinson, the Triangle of Sadness actor whose star is on the rise. They’re good together, and their “Father Figure” sequence is probably the highlight of the film for most people. Although his part is underwritten, Antonio Banderas delivers a passionate and likable performance here. Also, although it is a relatively small role, it is nice to see Talk To Me-star Sophie Wilde here. However, despite the good acting and the look of the film, Halina Reijn’s Babygirl can’t escape the feeling that it is a lesser version of other films in its genre, which isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the world, but it is a problem when the film, at the same time, feels unremarkable, unmemorable, and dramatically inert.
5.7 out of 10
– Review Written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 