'Babygirl' Seduces its Audience. But Not Entirely
Nichole Kidman does it again! She loves to do steamy roles and at the ripe age of 57, Kidman hasn't lost her ability to make sexually driven films still sexy. Babygirl is a nail-biting thriller that never lets off the gas, although it sometimes could have benefitted from having some breathing room. As thrilling as the movie is, it can get repetitive in its sex scenes. I get what writer/director Halina Reijn is aiming for. It's a story about finding sexual desire at an age where it starts to fade away, especially when you're married. What Kidman's character does to her husband is unforgivable by standard relationship protocol but understandable from a human perspective.
Babygirl asks the same question many other movies have asked. What if one sexual partner is not enough? Romy has the ideal life. She's a rich CEO of an automated package shipping company. Romy lives in a luxurious penthouse with another house in the suburbs. Everything is seemingly going her way until a certain intern shows up at her job to shake things up. Halina Reijn wastes no time diving the audience into the story. The picture opens with Romy fornicating with her husband. We hear moaning as soon as the A24 logo pops up on the screen. After Romy climaxes, her husband says "I love you" to his wife while Romy reciprocates "I love you" back to Jacob. However, we soon question if she really loves him. The short answer is yes, but he can't please her in bed which starts to become a big problem for her.
One day, when a new set of interns arrives, Samuel (Harris Dickinson) turns Romy's life upside down. Or rather, she subconsciously chooses to blow everything she holds dear up. Samuel triggers sexual fantasies from her, but Romy doesn't know how he feels about her. During a business meeting between the two, Sam sexually advances himself to Romy in an extremely invasive, borderline rapey kind of way. Sam won't let Romy out of the office until she gives him the intimacy he wants. If this were a situation where Romy wasn't attracted to Samuel, his behavior could get him canceled for life. Fortunately for Sam, Romy wants him. Once the two start making out, everything starts to fall apart in Romy's life.
The theme of the film is "What do you do when you can't find gratification in the bedroom?" For a man, it's easy to be satisfied. For a woman, there's a whole science to it. In one of the picture's most pivotal scenes, Romy exclaims angrily to Jacob that he's never made her orgasm. Jake takes the insult with a grain of salt, but things get worse when his acceptance of Romy's behavior hits a dead end.
Maybe if Romy were a polygamist, she wouldn't be facing constant sexual frustration. Although I mean that as a joke, it does bring up the fact that maybe having one partner isn't enough for everyone. Sometimes, we just need a fuck buddy who knows how to please you. When you enter a marriage, the gates to your genitals close up, only to be opened for your partner. Perhaps the system in which marriage is supposed to be sacred should be reexamined. Is it possible to cheat on someone and still love them? Of course, but many confuse sex for compassion. Sometimes, it's just purely physical.
The power dynamics Sam plays with Romy are nail-biting. Most interns would just keep their mouths shut and say thank you, but not Samuel. Sam is a conniving, manipulative bastard. At one point, Samuel digs deep into Romy's soul, telling her, "I think you like to be told what to do." Halina Reijn plays a strong game in power dynamics. Although a CEO, Romy is still subject to termination. Because she's a woman, Romy has to be a role model to other young girls who strive to be successful like her. A woman being emotional or vulnerable is seen as a weakness in an unequally male-driven world.
Romy can't help but submit to Samuel's advances, asking her to get on all fours and beg like a dog. Samuel is in a position of power over Romy, who can have her career end with just one phone call from Sam, exposing all the things he and Romy did together that obviously violate office procedures. Samuel is an interesting character. If the film could improve something, it's its structure.
I know this is a film about sex, but it seems like almost every other scene is of Romy pleasuring herself or having sex with her husband or with Samuel, dragging the length and point of the film further than it needs to go. Thankfully, the sex never feels exploitative. Most of the intercourse scenes don't feature any nudity. They primarily focus the lens on Nichole Kidman's face. Through Kidman's impressive performance, you can tell when she orgasms or is faking it.
I know it sounds like easy acting, but when her face is against the carpet as she's turning red, it looks pretty damn believable. The only time the movie features nudity is when Romy removes her clothes for Samuel. Sam tells Romy she's beautiful once the dress comes off. Romy almost doesn't believe him as she's vulnerable and insecure with her body.
In many ways, Babygirl is a spiritual successor to Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut. Both films are about sexual temptation that disrupts a marriage. Plus, both films take place during Christmas! It's what I like to call an unconventional Christmas film, where Christmas is used as a backdrop to a not-so-jolly story. If you're looking for a sexually driven thriller/character study, you can't go wrong with Babygirl. It's not quite sensational, but it is pretty good. The movie could have benefitted greatly from trimming some of the sex scenes. How many times can we see someone getting drilled instead of having scenes with more introspective dialogue? Despite its repetitive nature, Babygirl is an impressive thriller that will hold onto you until the credits roll.
Babygirl opens in theaters nationwide on Christmas Day.
