I’ve had some beef with Nicole Kidman for a while now. Mainly because she is a fabulous actor who has an unfortunate habit of starring in underwhelming slow-burners or overzealous big pictures that can’t do her skillset justice. But, 2024 has been a good year for her A Family Affair aside: first we watched her steal the show in Netflix’s The Perfect Couple and now she’s paired up with Harris Dickinson, one of Hollywood’s newest golden children (and classic rodent boyfriend), to deliver an erotic thriller that is sizzling with twisty, kinky, raw sexual energy. Introducing the internet’s reactions to the upcoming flick Babygirl.
As previously mentioned, Babygirl is an erotic thriller written, directed, and co-produced by Halina Reijn and starring Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson. Kidman plays Romy, an ambitious and high-strung CEO, who hires herself a new intern going by the name Samuel aka Dickinson. Despite the age gap, their connection is strong and electric, engulfing the pair in an intense love affair where Samuel interestingly takes on the role of the domineering figure…
And in one simple sentence, I can accurately sum up exactly what that looks like: him whispering the words “good girl” into her ear and sending shivers down the audience’s spines. You pretty much feel as shocked and helpless as this supposedly powerful woman looks.
Babygirl seems to be an addition to the post-#MeToo workplace dramas that seek to dissect the power imbalances in relationships between employees and their superiors. It poses questions such as “Would women in power act differently?” Yet, it still adds some layers to the discussion by presenting Samuel as having control over the relationship.
All hail writer-director Halina Reijn, who made the intriguing choice to mix corporate hierarchy with the one of intimate power plays, leaving the couple to struggle for dominance across different settings. I’m really excited to see who emerges as the winner. I have my money on Kidman (hard power always wins over soft power) but would appreciate an evil and sadistic twist at the end to complicate the answer…
The US theatrical release from A24 is scheduled for 25 December 2024, so that’s going to be an extra special, naughty treat for the holiday season.
However, the film debuted on 30 August 2024 at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, so some early reviews with spicy little easter eggs are already available online. Spoiler alert, The Guardian hates it, as always.
Still, one look at the buzz this movie is generating and it appears as though Christmas is saved. I’ve been psyched about this movie for quite some time now so it’s exciting to see netizens across the globe wake up to this sexually-charged, subversive flick.