BABYGIRL Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Halina Reijn
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Harris Disckinson, Antonio Banderas, Sophie Wilde, Esther McGregor, Vaughan Reilly, Victor Slezak, Leslie Silva, Dolly Wells.

This provocative erotic thriller deals with sexuality, power dynamics, control, corporate politics, gender roles and female empowerment.
Nicole Kidman stars as Romy Mathis, the ambitious and high-powered workaholic CEO of Tensile, a successful New York based robotics company specialising in automated delivery systems (think Amazon on steroids). She is married to Jacob (Antonio Banderas, recently seen in Paddington In Peru, etc) a successful theatre director. But she is dissatisfied with her sex with Jacob and is addicted to watching porn for satisfaction. The pair have a couple of teenage daughters. Romy also regularly undergoes painful Botox treatments to maintain her youthful visage. In an almost ironic touch Jacob is directing a production of Hedda Gabler, ostensibly about an unhappy marriage but also more subtly it’s also about the restrictions placed on women in society.
But then she meets Samuel (Harris Dickinson, from Triangle Of Sadness, etc), the handsome and cocky young intern who catches her eye when he calms a savage dog on the street outside her office. Samuel nominates Romy to be her mentor during the company’s intake training program. He openly flirts with her and eventually seduces her, stripping away her defences. She finds satisfaction in sex with Samuel and somehow is excited by his domination. Their sexual relationship though is taboo within the company and Romy is desperate to keep it a secret. Samuel’s attitude becomes more aggressive and when he arrives unannounced at the family home one weekend she fears that he may be more dangerous.
Ultimately though the question though becomes who is seducing who? The shifting nature of the relationship between the pair raises issues of control, power, submission and pleasure. Both also hold some sort of control over the other as they cannot reveal the relationship for fear that this fatal attraction could destroy their lives and reputation.
The film has been written and directed by veteran Dutch actress turned filmmaker Halina Rein (the 2022 horror thriller Bodies Bodies Bodies, etc) who is interested in female sexuality and exploring the shame that women of a certain age feel about their bodies. Rather than a risible exercise in exploitation along the lines of Fifty Shades Of Grey, Babygirl seems inspired by the erotic thrillers of the 80s and 90s, but seen from a female perspective. Rein herself has drawn inspiration from the films of Adrian Lyne and Paul Verhoeven and films such as Disclosure and 9 1/2 Weeks. But it has a grittier and more realistic edge to it than the risible BDSM power plays of Fifty Shades Of Grey.
Babygirl is a handsome looking production with glossy production values. Regular cinematographer Jasper Wolf gives the material a glossy sheen, but he also gives it a darker edge when required. Stephen Carter’s production design is also superb.
Kidman is strong as the tightly wound Romy, a CEO thriving in a male dominated world, but she also reveals her vulnerabilities and uncertainty. It is a brave and revealing performance that may remind audiences of her role in Kubrick’s rather staid and boring erotic drama Eyes Wide Shut. Dickinson brings a smoldering intensity to his role as the enigmatic Samuel. He and Kidman share a strong chemistry. Australian actor Sophie Wilde (from Talk To Me, etc) is also good as Esme, Romy’s ambitious personal assistant who is eager to advance in the company.
With its frank sex scenes, Babygirl is sure to be provocative, challenging, disturbing and one of the more controversial films of the year. But it is also problematic in its attitudes towards sexuality and male/female roles.
★★☆