Venice 2024: Nicole Kidman Explores Her Sub Kink in ‘Babygirl’ Film

Venice 2024: Nicole Kidman Explores Her Sub Kink in ‘Babygirl’ Film

by Alex Billington
August 31, 2024

Is it time to finally start talking about our sexual kinks without worrying about being shamed by others? This is definitely the vibe this film is putting out. Is this film going to help us normalize this conversation? Maybe not, but at least it’s a start… Maybe it is time we all stop hiding our kinks and start letting them into wild? Though that can be dangerous – which is also another vibe this film is putting out. Tread carefully. The first step is actually admitting your kinks and exploring them, understanding them, and not letting shame be the overwhelming emotion. Just watch out, you might get in trouble if you do this in your office at work. Babygirl is the second feature film directed by Dutch actor / filmmaker Halina Reijn after Bodies Bodies Bodies. It’s an empowering sexual exploration thriller with some light humor, exploring the dynamics and pitfalls of a relationship between a high power corporate CEO and a young intern at her company. Alas it’s rather tame in the sex department but nonetheless I enjoyed it – we need a proper fantasy film like this now.

Unlike some other movies exploring the relationships between older women and younger men this year (e.g. The Idea of You and A Family Affair), this one is more of a sexual fantasy thriller closer to perhaps Fifty Shades of Grey than something a big Hollywood studio might release. Technically Halina Reijn’s Babygirl is a “BDSM romantic thriller”, but the BDSM is pretty light, there’s no whips or handcuffs – it’s more about a sub/dom relationship and how this CEO is affected by her exploration of this experience. Both written and directed by Reijn, Babygirl follows Nicole Kidman as Romy, the workaholic CEO of a robotics company with their headquarters in New York City. The business side of this story is irrelevant, it’s about Kidman’s character’s personal story of sexual liberation. Harris Dickinson co-stars as Samuel, a dreamy hot young intern who shows up at her company one day. After a few random encounters, he makes passes at her and they attempt a covert sexual relationship. She’s turned on by his sexual domination and lets herself, barely, experience this pleasure breaking down her always-in-control attitude that she has running this business.

My biggest issues with the film are with a very messy script. It’s trying to be an empowerment film, above all else, while also following the narrative of what happens when this high power CEO gets entangled with this younger intern, but it doesn’t handle either side of the story very well (or realistically). It’s pure fantasy. On one hand, this makes the film more light and enjoyable and entertaining – which means it might actually be the right story to get some women and men to open up after watching. On the other hand, none of it is that realistic, none of it feels risky or edgy, despite so many scenes attempting to deal with the danger. There’s brief conversations about what would happen if the company found out about the affair. AAlong withnd another subplot with her family – her husband and two daughters – and what happens when they find out. But it’s also, thankfully, not a film about abuse or violence. It wants to be positive about sexual freedom and that’s an important aspect that keeps it light on its toes. I just wish it got a bit heavier on the sexual tension side, because that might also encourage more people to experiment with their own kinks after watching this.

It’s also supposed to be a provocative, erotic BDSM romantic thriller but there’s not much really going on. It will barely get an R rating! Of course that’s what they were aiming for – it deserves a wide audience. It’s not meant to be exploitative or flashy or perverted in that cinematic sense. The point is more the intensity of her feelings and learning that her sub kink is totally okay if she can handle it correctly. Let your kinks out! Stop holding back, even if it is seems risky. Your kink(s) shouldn’t ruin your life. Hopefully. That’s what Babygirl wants us to believe. But this is a conversation that is meant for private – I’m just one man talking about the film I watched, not trying to analyze or critique other people’s kinks or sexual quirks or whatever it is that excites them in bed. What I appreciate most of all about Reijn’s Babygirl is that it isn’t ashamed to offer us a fully entertaining, engaging film about sexual liberation and sexy intimacy. Cinema is slowly opening up to having more of these discussions without stigmatized judgment, showing us that there’s no need for shame or guilt. It is possible to stay in control and let yourself go wild. Kidman & Dickinson will show you the way.

Alex’s Venice 2024 Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Follow Alex on Twitter – @firstshowing / Or Letterboxd – @firstshowing

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