‘Babygirl’ review: Nicole Kidman dazzles in hot romance

Sex in the cinema is back, baby. 2024 was a good year for movies thanks to cheap fare like Rose Glass’s neo-noir thriller Lies Lies Bleed, Love triangle drama by Luca Guadagnino Challenges, Sean Baker’s comedy centered around a sex dealer Anoraand last, but certainly not least Halina Reijn’s May-December drama Baby girl.

Written and directed by Bodies Bodies Bodies assistant Reijn, Baby girl it received strong acclaim with its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where Nicole Kidman was awarded the Volpi Cup for her thrilling performance as the female lead. As he has in bold products like himself Eyes Wide Shut, Paperboyagain Big Little LiesKidman rejected her polished persona as a megawatt star (and AMC rep), embracing a wild ride of sex and danger.

However Baby girl stands out among these other films and series by maintaining a sexy performance in the middle of an intentionally troubled romance. In that, even the seed sequence has a sweet spot.

Baby girl She alternates the sexes usually in May-December.

At first it was shy, Baby girlThe municipal scene sounds all too familiar: A high-powered CEO’s family and career are threatened, due to a bad relationship with a lusty young student.

Except that Reijn swaps genders for these roles, so the powerful CEO isn’t the Michael Douglas-stabbing type; played by the cool, cool Kidman. And rather than a curvy bee walking into her new workplace in a cozy pencil skirt, The Sadness Triangle‘ Harris Dickinson walks in wearing a blazer and a lonely expression. And just like that, expectations for this sensational story are dashed.

Romy Mathis (Kidman) seems to have it all: a lavish Hamptons home, a luxury Manhattan apartment, a handsome, hip husband (Antonio Banderas), two lovely daughters Isabel (Esther McGregor) and Nora (Vaughan Reilly), and a high man. -power work, where she is not only respected but also a good role model for women in male-dominated fields. However, deep down Romy longs to be despised, belittled, and begged for. It’s a dark desire that he can’t even share with his lover of years. So when this cute and dirty hunter talks to her as casually as he might be a barista, she’s in for a rude awakening. And you know.

Samuel (Harris) is a fresh take on the problematic Lolita trope: a young person (usually a girl, often at a young age) who is portrayed as precocious and self-aware beyond her years. At first, he can see that what Romy says in his life is a place where he can play it modestly. Firm but soft, Samuel is ready to dominate her, expecting her to sulk on the floor of a dirty hotel or drink a tall glass of milk just because she said so. Romy’s desire is one that is often associated with male bosses, especially in BDSM circles. The gender reversal of this May-December dom-sub relationship (as opposed to Steven Shainberg’s office-set BDSM rom-com Secretary), creates a narrative that transcends in a thrilling way.

Romy and Samuel’s relationship is undeniably hot, thanks to the strong chemistry between Kidman and Harris. Yet it’s the on-screen romance that can get its audience hooked, thanks to dynamic dynamics, age differences, inconsistent gender roles, and kinky sex. This relationship is very strong even before Romy changed their safe name to “Jacob” – her husband’s name. And all of this serves the sensual and liberating message that sex should be about painful emotional honesty and joyful discovery.

Baby girl enjoys exploring sex and consent.

Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson in “Babygirl”.
Credit: A24

BDSM gets a bad rap in the media, often because it’s mislabeled as harassment or bullying. Reijn and her characters embrace a version of Dom/sub sex where consent is not only important but also fun. In a loud voice, Samuel tells Romy to do certain things. He may be embarrassed or refuse, and she will urge him to tell her why. It’s not pressure, it’s communication. Remarkably, the kind of conversation – easy and fun – she can open with her sweet husband.

Far from the “zipless fucks” dreamed up by Erica Jong or associated with the sensual feelings of the ’90s, Baby girl using these moments of awkward conversation and fumbling in advance not only to focus their sexual dreams in a realistic environment, but also, because there is freedom to see the process here. We see the cheap hotel room of the couple as a sexual sandbox, where both feel as comfortable as their partners. Dynamic power is at work, but happiness is the goal they both want to achieve together. And maybe because it’s Kidman in the lead, Baby girl encourages its audience to take themselves seriously in the bedroom, and be like Romy and Samuel.

Nicole Kidman delivers a sultry and vulnerable performance that could land her at the Oscars.

Antonio Banderas and Nicole Kidman in “Babygirl”.
Credit: A24

Some will criticize or criticize Kidman for taking on such a sexually suggestive role. (He faced similar criticism Paperboy.) As Romy, Kidman is given a level of power that few women in the world will ever have. And so there’s a knowing discomfort in watching him surrender that power to a poor man in a tie. As the stakes of this game increase with the possibility of Romy losing her job or her husband or the respect of her assistant (talk to me‘s Sophie Wilde) and daughters, there are many reasons to judge this relationship. Yet in those scenes, Kidman unleashes a version of this character with a brilliant personality, beautifully flawed, full of longing and shame, so understandable. As we know, he makes “bad choices,” we would be relieved to see someone dare to do that. By living freely Baby girlWith dizzying highs and gut-churning lows, you might feel inspired to embrace your reality like Romy does during this movie.

Kidman thoughtfully picks herself up from the lofty ladder of glamor girl movie fame to give us this gift. While the scenes of sexual discovery can feel childish with their laughs and awkward conversations about consent and humor, Baby girl It has a deep maturity in its psychological understanding and empathy for unusual desires.

As for the Oscars, Kidman’s win in Venice suggests she’s in good shape this award season. Sexual freedom and unapologetic nudity didn’t hurt Emma Stone last year in the best actress competition and she won. Poor Things. However, Kidman’s age may be a challenge. Even as there is an uptick in May-December romances involving an older woman and a younger man (including Kidman’s summer release A Family Story), there may be a backlash to older women lusting after a young man, as we saw in the mixed reception An Idea About You, a rom-com about a middle-aged single mother who hooks up with a 20-something boyband member.

Kidman is helped, however, by being surrounded by strong performances. Harris is well-tuned to the cross-section of lustful fantasy and disturbing reality, playing a character who maintains a sweet mystique, justified by her place in Romy’s conflicted vision. Banderas warmly portrays a loving partner/father, juxtaposing the fun of the affair with the pain of inevitably finding it. Wilde withers as an active helper. McGregor brings a relaxed Gen Z sense of gender freedom as Romy’s estranged daughter with a love triangle of her own, while Reilly succinctly captures a child’s innocence that can be shattered by the crack in her all-powerful mother’s face.

All in all, the characters do Baby girl the stunner, the arrival of silly and sexy moments. Emotionally raw, provocative, and defiantly playful, Reijn’s film joyfully explores the complex bonds that bind. Against tough competition, he delivers one of the sexiest, most exciting films of the year.

Baby girl reviewed for the first time in North America at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. A24 will release the movie in theaters on December 25.