As much as Halina Reijn‘s Babygirl is an erotic thriller about the power play dynamic of a high-strung female CEO and the young, confident intern who infiltrates her deepest sexual desires, the Bodies, Bodies, Bodies filmmaker ultimately has created a film about the power of communication.
Communication in its most carnal form is what draws Romy Mathis (Nicole Kidman, throwing herself fiercely into the role) to Samuel (Harris Dickinson, commanding) when he quite brazenly asserts his dominance in her presence, despite the fact that she holds the future of his professional career in her hands. At least initially.
Communication unspoken is what stifles Romy’s marriage to Jacob (Antonio Banderas), a theatre director, who, despite still having an active sex life in their marriage, is unable to provide her with an orgasm; something he’s unaware of, and that she counterbalances by masturbating to dominant-submissive pornography directly afterwards.
Staying silent on what she truly desires burns under her marriage, and whilst we await its inevitable explosion, she explores the facets of her kinks with Samuel, who she embraces as something of a liberating force to offset the power she hones as a CEO at an Amazon-like company that she claims is all about maintaining human connection whilst, ironically, increasing the presence of robotics as workers; the lingering eyes eventually increase to humiliating rituals, such as her drinking milk out of a saucer on all-fours and eating treats out of his hand.
Whilst it’s clear that both have a certain idea as to how their fetishes should play out, executing such is a different story. And as much as Babygirl is an at-times erotic, tragic affair, it’s wildly entertaining and hones a distinct sense of humour. The film’s dark wit best shines through when the lines of Romy and Samuel’s personal and professional environments start blurring, with him expressing a surprising dominance with his career aspirations – despite being an intern – which leads to him befriending Romy’s family.
Reijn’s tongue is clearly planted firmly in her cheek regarding the world exploration of Babygirl – some of the verbal commands and words of affirmation from Dickinson are equally scintillating as they are arousing – but as much as there’s a twisted sense of humour at bay, Kidman, Dickinson and, eventually, Banderas’ emotional vulnerability never lets the film lose sight of its tragic, heartbreaking core.
This is kinky cinema at its most beautiful, and few tales of such erotic exploration have been as finely tuned and honestly performed as to what Reijn has created here.
FIVE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Babygirl screened as part of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, which ran between September 5th and 15th, 2024. For more information about the festival, head to the official site here.
