Christmas movies come in all shapes and sizes. Whether they’re the family movies you watch at home alone or the action thriller for “die hard” fans, there’s always something perfect for the festive season.
But the best Christmas movie subgenre has to be Nicole Kidman erotic thriller. We saw our first entry in 1999 with Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut. Now Halina Reijn, director of Bodies Bodies Bodies, brings us Babygirl, which stars Kidman as high-ranking CEO begins a sexually thrilling fling with a much younger intern at her company.
Reijn proves herself to be an adept storyteller once again, using quite the attention-grabbing opening scene to give you a look at Romy Mathis’ sex life with her husband Jacob (Antonio Banderas). It’s riveting to learn about her home life. She has two kids, she has built herself up with a successful career, and yet, we sense her discontent. When Samuel (Harris Dickinson) begins interning for her company, things take one hell of a turn as he starts to pay an inordinate amount of attention to her, while she returns the favor.
From here, we have a steamy love affair that grabs you by the throat. Reijn does an exceptional job helming the erotic scenes, allowing it to be sexy without being excessive. She makes a wise choice to not drown anything out with musical score. We hear every bit of their arousal, allowing it to feel awkward and dirty. It also implicates the audience as voyeurs, almost as if we were sitting in the same room as them, watching them commit these sensual acts that play around with their power dynamic. Although Romy outranks Samuel at the company, their dynamic gets shaken up during their intimate moments.
Kidman offers an excellent performance here. Those who saw her work earlier this year in the Netflix movie A Family Affair are familiar with her playing women desiring younger men. This film pushes that premise further, letting her play with a character that has spent years feeling unfulfilled. Babygirl depicts that feeling and how it has been bottled up to the point where it all spills out. Romy is a woman who gives into her worst impulses but finds herself at the crossroads between her deepest desires and the reputation she has at her company.
Reijn’s screenplay allows Babygirl to have thrills without ever losing its grounded nature. Many films in this vein take things very far, with blood and death taking everything to a very heightened degree of reality. This film never takes things that far. Instead, it examines the moral implications of what’s happening and illustrates everything at stake. Romy has to keep this fling as a secret from her family and the company, and that alone allows this film to feel exciting, especially as Samuel gets closer to her family and the truth begins to unravel. We get a strong sense of what turns Romy and Samuel on, but once we realize what’s actually titillating Romy, it’s shocking.
One of the only things Babygirl is missing is a bit more of Samuel. While Dickinson does a superb job of playing the part of this mysterious stranger, he never becomes much more than that. Perhaps this is because the entire movie is told from Romy’s perspective, so she’s not interested in him much beyond the physical pleasure he provides and the thrill of sneaking around. We get into her head a lot, but the film could have benefited from providing a greater insight into why he’s doing what he’s doing and how he justifies this behavior.
This film shows yet another instance of Kidman’s talent. This year, she has been a staple in movies and TV, appearing in Expats on Prime Video, The Perfect Couple on Netflix, and Lioness on Paramount+. Since 2001, we have had at least one movie with her in it every year. With her endless work comes no decline in quality, as she turns in phenomenal work. Antonio Banderas gets to have a good dramatic part in this film, and there is no weak link in this cast.
Babygirl also manages to be surprisingly funny at times. There’s something about this movie that makes it both hilarious and stomach-churning. It’s provocative, and ends on a somewhat unexpected note. This is a well-crafted film about the desires that we hide away, the impulses we refuse to act upon, and the impacts of affairs on people, presented with a strong sense of objectivity and an erotic eye. It’s definitely not a Christmas movie for the whole family, but it’s one that can be enjoyed by older audiences, particularly those who fancy either of the two lead actors.
SCORE: 8/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 8 equates to “Great.” While there are a few minor issues, this score means that the art succeeds at its goal and leaves a memorable impact.
Disclosure: ComingSoon attended a press screening for our Babygirl review.
