Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson’s new picture, Babygirl, has everyone talking—and rightfully so.
Babygirl delves into an age-gap relationship in which a powerful lady engages in sexual activity with her intern. Yes, Kidman’s character is having an affair, while the intern is played by the Iron Claw actor. However, the intricate power relations are not what you may expect (think “BDSM” rather than “boss abusing power”).
Kidman described the part as “liberating” in a recent interview but admitted she had to cease filming at one point owing to the intensity of the sex scenes and days of continuous touch.
“There was an enormous amount of sharing and trust and then frustration,” according to her. “It’s like ‘don’t touch me.'” There were times while we were filming that I said, ‘I don’t want to orgasm anymore.’
She went on to express how weary she was by the procedure, reflecting on her emotions: “Don’t come near me. I despise doing this. I don’t care if I never get touched again in my life! I am over it. It was so constant for me that it seemed like a burnout.”
In an interview with People, she also discussed genuinely getting there and the necessity of having a woman in command.
“There’s a sort of ‘jump off the cliff’ thing where you go. Okay, I’m just going to abandon everything and explore this with the people that I trust in a genre that is already set, but hopefully we can explore new territory and especially with women at the helm,” she told me.
We also know that Babygirl director Halina Reijn was influenced by the sexual thriller Basic Instinct, which featured Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas and told the story of a woman who had not been sexually fulfilled with her marriage.
This isn’t Kidman’s first film about an age gap, nor is it the only popular one released in 2024. Earlier this year, she costarred in A Family Affair with Zac Efron as her romantic interest. And, of course, Anne Hathaway wowed us all in the rom-com hit The Idea of You, in which she portrays a 40-something divorcee who has an affair with a 20-something pop singer.
Here’s all we know thus far about Babygirl.
What is Babygirl about?
The film, which has been dubbed an erotic thriller, delves into workplace power relations.
The film’s official (although brief) storyline summary reads: “A high-powered CEO puts her career and family on the line when she begins a torrid affair with a much younger intern.” Kidman portrays Romy, the CEO whose marriage is on the rocks, while Harris Dickinson plays the intern Samuel, Romy’s dominant partner.
Kidman has described this film as the most revealing of her career.
“I’ve made some films that are pretty exposing, but not like this,” she explained in an interview with IndieWire. “I only deal with abandonment. […] Many of the subjects in my films have been examined through the perspective of sexuality.
I haven’t eradicated it or attempted to pretend it doesn’t exist. […] That is vulnerable, but I will never shy away from it till the day I die. I will put myself in a vulnerable situation and see where it takes me.”
Looking back, she recalls the difficulty and intricacy of the experience and claims that she “never came out of it, really.”
“It ran me ragged. “At some point, I was like, I don’t want to be touched,” she admitted. “I didn’t want to do this anymore, yet I felt obligated to do it.
“I felt really vulnerable as an actor, a woman, and a human being. I had to go in and out as if I needed to put my protection back on. What did I just do? Where have I gone? “What have I done?”
Nicole also discussed her concerns about the world after witnessing Babygirl, as well as the safe environment on set provided by director Halina Reijn. “Halina would hold me and I would hold her, because it was just very confronting to me,” she recalled. “It was being able to converse amazingly honestly and graphically—and that’s woman-to-woman, as if you were laying on your bed with your sister or closest friend. That is absolutely safe.
“Halina has a very strong maternal instinct, so she was very protective of all of us,” she says. ‘But especially me.”
Halina told IndieWire that she is confident that she has created a “really hot movie,” above all. “I know we did one thing: we created a tremendously hot movie. I’m not sure about good or bad—that’s up to everyone—but I’m certain about it,” she replied.
Who is in the Babygirl cast?
Sophie Wilde, Antonio Banderas, Jean Reno, Victor Slezak, Esther McGregor, Vaughan Reilly, and Anoop Desai co-star in Babygirl, alongside Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson.
When will Babygirl be released?
A24 will premiere Babygirl in cinemas on December 25. Merry Christmas to everyone.
Is there a babygirl trailer?
Yes, and it’s difficult to look away from.
In one scene, Samuel (Dickinson) tells his supervisor Romy (Kidman), “I think you like to be told what to do,” before hastily adding, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…””That was incredibly inappropriate.”
Of course, you undoubtedly know what happens next. However, the trailer will undoubtedly give you an excellent impression.
