Babygirl
Director: Halina Reijn
Writer: Halina Reijn
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, Antonio Banderas, Sophie Wilde, Esther McGregor, Vaughan Reilly
Seen on: 4.2.2025

Plot:
Romy (Nicole Kidman) is successful, beautiful and has a devoted husband in Jacob (Antonio Banderas). So, she doesn’t even really understand why she feels drawn to Samuel (Harris Dickinson), a new intern at her company, a cocky young man who dares to flirt with her. His confidence and provocations lead Romy on a way to discover more about her sexuality than she ever thought possible.

Babygirl is an insightful film that understands its characters enough that it never gives into the temptation to be provocative just for provocation’s sake. Instead, it gives us an exploration of the sexuality and desires of an older woman which is often seen as provocative in our society but shouldn’t be.

The film quickly establishes its two starting points: one, that Romy isn’t sexually satisfied and two, that Samuel is all swaggering confidence. From that point, the collision between the two in – finally – some kinky sex seems almost unavoidable, and not because all successful women secretly long to be dominated, though there is probably something to be said for relinquishing control when you carry a lot of responsibility every day. But in this case, Romy discovers that it’s just something she likes, no morality, no „all women“, just her preference.

And the sex scenes where both Romy and Samuel try to find out what works for them are wonderful, precisely because they don’t really have it figured out yet. Samuel, too, isn’t just some kind of natural dom and those scenes are often awkward, not particularly sexy and allow for laughter. We also get something else here that we rarely see in BDSM stories: a whole lot of after care. So, we get Samuel holding Romy tenderly, we see them talking and just be this emotional kind of intimate with each other.

Outside of the bedroom, though, there are of course problems with the relationship and the film doesn’t deny those. Romy is married. She is Samuel’s boss. That’s not nothing. But the film refuses to punish Romy for finally exploring her sexuality. Yes, there are some consequences, but ultimately, it is for the better that she knows what she is into now.

The performances are fantastic, with Kidman, of course, shining in the lead. But Dickinson and Banderas are worthy supporting actors, as is Sophie Wilde who has a delicate balance to keep as Romy’s assistant and does so perfectly. Reijn brings everything together in a sparkling film that is as interesting as it is entertaining.

Summarizing: an absolute winner.