Just when you thought Nicole Kidman could surprise you no more, she’s gone and done it again.
In Halina Reijn’s erotic drama Babygirl, Kidman is fierce, needy and vulnerable, up for humiliation and willing to lay herself bare. The wear and tear is visible on her cosmetically altered face and skinny body. The film’s heroine is concerned about ageing too, which adds an extra edge to her relationship with a much younger intern.
That Romy (Kidman) heads a robotics company is no coincidence. In the age of automation and artificial intelligence, Romy seeks a specific kind of human experience that is missing from her marriage, despite no lack of ardour from her husband Jacob (Antonio Banderas).
It’s recognition at first sight, rather than love, between Romy and the new company intern Samuel (Harris Dickinson). Their relationship is enthralling for both not only because it’s inappropriate. Samuel understand Romy’s desire for dominance, leading to an affair that questions the power dynamic between boss and employee, man and woman.
Babygirl is out in Indian cinemas with minor cuts. The 115-minute tale of lust without caution creates tension by juxtaposing the illicit nature of the relationship, in which time seems to stop and the venues for the assignations don’t matter, with the imminent threat of discovery. The danger, while a turn-on, frequently reminds Romy of how vulnerable she is at her workplace.
The portions involving Romy and Samuel learning about each other’s boundaries contribute to a terrific character study. More is conveyed in these purely physical moments than the explanations of Romy’s childhood, or the role played by her ambitious assistant Esme (Sophie Wilde).
Halina Reijn, who has written the movie, fails to psychologically ground Romy’s proclivities in any meaningful way. The perilous sexual adventure of a woman who has breached a glass ceiling – a rarity in itself – is somewhat lost in the emphasis on Romy’s self-discovery at any cost.
Everything about the film that needs to be understood at the sensorial level is there in Nicole Kidman’s conflicted expression, both terrified and excited, and in Harris Dickinson’s superbly judged dominant partner. Antonio Banderas is lovely too as Romy’s supportive and understandably befuddled husband.
