Babygirl Movie Review: Nicole Kidman Needs A New Man

Nicole Kidman tries to get her kink on, but due to a big miscast and some script issues, she and the audience end up more frustrated than satisfied.

Babygirl Movie Review

American cinema has an aversion to intimacy. It dates back to way before I was born, but it's a sentiment that has always been prevalent- sex is bad. Yes some films take their R rating in stride and deliver something that is typically talked about for decades to come but overall movies shy away from showing the realistic mechanics of relationships, from the meet-cutes to the actual act of getting into bed together. 2024 has been a year where several films have tackled multiple angles of this topic, with varying success.

Babygirl feels like The Substance 2.0 for me. I see many applauding the “brave choice” (side note: I hate that phrase) of Nicole Kidman to take on a role such as the one in Babygirl. Not only that but it seems most critics found the film to be risqué, spicy, and award worthy. I don't want to say it like this, but the redhead in me can't help it. I can't help but wonder if they have never experienced anything above vanilla… because let's face it (and people I know in that community can attest), this wasn't some breakthrough film. Not only that, it's definitely not showing anything I would ever describe as risqué.

Romy (Nicole Kidman), is a high-powered CEO who is sexually dissatisfied in her otherwise happy marriage to Jacob (Antonio Banderas). When the new batch of interns arrive at the office, Romy becomes inexplicably drawn to Samuel (Harris Dickinson). They start off flirting but things soon get hot and heavy as Romy and Samuel explore their desires with one another all while trying to avoid destroying their lives.

Verdict

Babygirl is a film that had some potential to explore an aspect of female desire that is rarely shown on screen but never quite satisfied its topic. Though many scenes worked well – with one stellar moment for Banderas' Jacob – the majority of the sexual tension and attraction between Kidman and Dickinson fell flat. I do think Kidman fans will enjoy Babygirl and that like some other films in this subgenre of thriller, there is certainly an audience for it.