Almost as sexy and thought-provoking as “Eyes Wide Shut.”
There’s different kinds of movies about affairs. “Unfaithful,” “9 & 1/2 Weeks,” “Indecent Proposal,” “Eyes Wide Shut,” and “Fatal Attraction” are among the titles. Now, “Babygirl,” which stars Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson (who are basically 30 years apart from each other), is the latest entry in that genre. And like “Eyes Wide Shut,” it’s a holiday feature set in NYC and starring Kidman.
I needed time to process my reaction to it. Sometimes, I didn’t understand it, and other times, I did. Believe me, there’s a lot to unpack here regarding the older woman and her much younger lover.
The time is the holidays. The place is NYC. The main heroine, Romy Mathis (Nicole Kidman), is the CEO of a professional company. And her affair comes in the form of her much younger intern Samuel (Harris Dickinson), whom she meets after an encounter with a dog who barks out in the street but is tamed by Samuel’s dog treat. As his internship continues and as her company becomes more ambitious, he tries to lure her in, but she can’t because she wants to devoted to her theater director husband Jacob (Antonio Banderas). Although I’m not sure if she still loves him considering that she loves sex more than her personal life with him
Romy and Samuel both share a kiss, which she laters calls “inappropriate.” But they keep this up, and now, Romy has a lot to unwrap here. Christmas humor. But seriously, Samuel often makes surprise visits to her husband and two daughters, much to her chagrin. We don’t know what is to come out of this. But we do know the husband will be disillusioned.
“Babygirl” was written and directed by Halina Reijn, who has gained more attention with “Bodies Bodies Bodies.” Even though not everything is clear, her latest movie has the right kind of eroticism and stars. It has some good taste in music, it’s beautifully photographed by Jasper Wolf (who also did “Bodies Bodies Bodies”), and it does know how to be sexy and provocative simultaneously.
If you recall “Eyes Wide Shut,” was also set in New York during the holidays, Kidman as a woman who contemplated on having an affair and Tom Cruise as her doctor husband who starts to have dreams about her infidelity. And we also see him in a mansion which hosts secret masked orgies. I definitely think other critics will be comparing and contrasting with both “Babygirl” and “Eyes Wide Shut.” And both movies feature Kidman giving radiant performances and presenting dialogue so genuine, you’re able to ease into their drama.
Dickinson, whose charming appeal includes “Where the Crawdads Sing” and “The Iron Claw,” is a natural young actor, who plays this intern with a spark I probably would have expected from him, but still entertains us. I met him at a screening of “The Iron Claw” last year, and I complimented on his talents. And “Babygirl” is another example of that.
And both of them, along with Banderas, have a chemistry that eases us into their situation. There are going to be rejections, challenges, and choices that don’t have to be crazy, but gripping with the right direction.
We’ll definitely keeping seeing this particular genre, especially if it involves risking careers and families, and especially if big names are able to play characters worthy of the genre, and not here for commercialism. In fact, A24 is the studio distributing this film, and even audiences follow its releases, most of the time.
“Babygirl” also comes out Christmas Day, so I guess you could say this is more than gift-wrapped.
