Babygirl: Difference between revisions

Babygirl is a 2024 American erotic thriller film written, directed, and co-produced by Halina Reijn. It stars Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, Sophie Wilde, and Antonio Banderas.

The film debuted on August 30, 2024, at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, where it will be competing for the Golden Lion. Following this, it will make its North American premiere at the 49th Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2024. It will also be released by A24 in the United States and Canada on December 25, 2024.

This cinematic work explores the complexities of power dynamics and sexuality within a professional setting as it revolves around a high-ranking CEO (Nicole Kidman) who embarks on a forbidden romance with a captivating intern (Harris Dickinson), who is significantly younger.^[4][5]

It was announced in November 2023 that David Hinojosa of 2AM was going to produce the project alongside Halina Reijn of Man Up Films, with A24 financing the project. Julia Oh, Zach Nutman, and Christine D’Souza Gelb of 2AM served as executive producers.^[8] It was later revealed that Julie Oh would take on the producer role, contrary to earlier reports that she would serve as an executive producer.^[9] In addition to her role as producer, Halina Reijn directed the film from a screenplay she wrote.^[10][11] The project marked Reijn’s second English-language feature film, both produced by A24.^[12][13]

The film's workplace dynamics were influenced by cinematic elements from Indecent Proposal and Basic Instinct.^[14][15] The affair in the film was set in an American workplace because the stricter hierarchy and rules in the U.S. compared to Europe make such a relationship feel even more forbidden and taboo.^[16]

Reijn added that her interest in exploring women's relationships with their bodies was a key motivator for making this movie.^[17][18] She also credited her passion for the erotic thrillers of the 1980s and 90s, particularly those by directors Paul Verhoeven and Adrian Lyne, as the inspirational driving force behind her decision to make this film.^[19][20]

In November 2023, Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, Antonio Banderas, Sophie Wilde and Jean Reno were announced to join the cast.^[21][22] Other cast members included John Cenatiempo, Vaughan Reilly, Victor Slezak, Anoop Desai and Maxwell Whittington-Cooper.^[7] Esther McGregor was reported to star.^[23]

Principal photography began in December 2023, in New York City.^[24][25] Filming took place from December 2023 to February 2024.^[26]

Babygirl was premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on August 30, 2024.^[27][28][29] It will later premiere at the 49th Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2024.^[30][3] The film was initially set for release in the United States on December 20, 2024, but the date was later shifted to December 25, 2024, for its theatrical debut.^[31][32][33]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 89% of 19 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.3/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 82 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Damon Wise of Deadline praised the performance of Kidman as "[she] really goes the distance, imbuing Romy with a psychological vulnerability that is missing from the film it most obvious sounds like (Fifty Shades of Grey) and presenting a unique reversal of the film it most obviously looks like (Secretary)." He also mentioned Dickinson's performance as "an inspired piece of casting, manifesting like a monster from the id with his dorky, knife-and-fork haircut and clothes that he appears to have put on with a shovel."^[34]

David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter called out the film as "sexy, dark and unpredictable" and praised the cast performance. He mentioned Dickinson was "a magnetic screen presence", Kidman was "in spectacular form, swinging from outrage to fear to ravenously lustful consent", Wilde brought "sly notes of humor".^[35] Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair praised the overall film as "Reijn creates the sense that we are watching test subjects through a two-way mirror. This doesn’t necessarily make the proceedings any less interesting. But one does maybe crave a bit more heat from a movie that is so willing to tackle intimate matters."^[36]

Despite viewing the film as "for all its excited carnality and seesawing power struggles, the film’s thrills feel machine-tooled and vacuum-packed. Babygirl rolls off the track looking almost as neat and anonymous as a box from Tensile’s upstate delivery warehouse", Xan Brooks of The Guardian praised Kidman's "bright, bold performance" as it "carries a top-note of distress, as though she is not entirely convinced by everything she’s signed up for."^[37] On the contrary, Owen Gleiberman of Variety rated the overall film as "a shrewdly honest and entertaining movie about a flagrantly “wrong” sadomasochistic affair" and he called out Kidman's performance "fearless".^[38]

• Babygirl at IMDb