'Babygirl' Review: Nicole Kidman Is Fearless in an Erotic Office Drama About the Age of Control
Niko Tavernise
Nicole Kidman delivers a fearless performance in Babygirl, a candid tale of lust, power dynamics, and control. The film explores the complexities of female sexuality and the disarray that arises when defining one’s needs. Halina Reijn's direction channels the spirit of classic erotic thrillers like Unfaithful and 9½ Weeks, but with an up-to-the-minute corporate twist that is both humane and insightful.
Nicole Kidman is fearless in this
brutally candid exploration of lust and power
One of the many reasons that sex scenes in movies have faded as a phenomenon is the omnipresence of pornography. When people can easily click on their deepest kinks and favored objects of desire, who needs a carefully staged R-rated "erotic" version?
As if to acknowledge this, Babygirl, a drama about a dangerous office liaison written and directed by Halina Reijn (Bodies Bodies Bodies), opens with a high-angle close-up of Nicole Kidman straddling an unseen man, panting with pleasure. It looks and sounds like the kind of movie sex scene that once would have been described as "hot." But as soon as the coupling is over, and the man—Antonio Banderas, as Kidman's husband—says "I love you," we see Kidman slip into another room (easy to do in their spacious Manhattan apartment), where she lies on the floor in front of her laptop and masturbates to a grungy piece of incest porn.
Antonio Banderas & Nicole Kidman in ‘Babygirl’ courtesy of A24
The irony here is that Kidman’s character, Romy, is presented as a woman who "has it all." She’s the CEO of her own company—an e-commerce outfit called Tensile Automation, akin to a next-level Amazon that promises one-day delivery using automated logistics (i.e., robots run the entire warehouse). She has a caring, supportive husband, who’s a prominent New York theater director, and two vibrant teenage daughters (Esther McGregor and Vaughan Reilly). And she has a "healthy" sex life—but also secret transgressive fantasies, which are what really get her off. In other words, she has it all; she just doesn’t have it all in one place.
Early on, we see Romy in the office, presenting mission-statement videos for the company, where every upbeat word is market-tested, including a reference to how "nurturing" the company is—despite its all-robot premise effectively putting people out of work. Romy rationalizes it as liberating people from menial jobs. This sly take on corporate culture today connects directly to Romy’s pent-up sexuality and the forbidden office hookup about to ensnare her.
Romy, with her "friendly" professional demeanor and eyes glued to the constant information stream of her phone, is the quintessential boss as highly functional control freak. Underneath it all, she craves a kind of sexuality that breaks apart that control. The implication of Babygirl is that it isn’t just Romy—it’s a societal issue. We are increasingly rooted in technology and corporate routines, where everything is controlled, feeding a desire to break free.
Nicole Kidman & Harris Dickinson in ‘Babygirl’ courtesy of A24
Enter Samuel (Harris Dickinson), one of the company’s new interns. The young man who ignites Romy’s fantasies is much younger—a work colleague barely out of college. Had Babygirl been made 20 years ago, it might have been conceived as a "cougar" fantasy, centered on animal magnetism. Instead, Reijn crafts a far shrewder narrative.
The two meet when the interns are given a tour of Tensile’s sprawling lower Broadway office suite. During the introduction, Samuel asks Romy an incredibly blunt question about the company’s robot premise. Dickinson, the gifted actor from The Iron Claw and Triangle of Sadness, has a blunt-edged charm reminiscent of a young Austin Butler. Samuel’s message to Romy is clear: "I make the rules by breaking yours." Their chemistry is not about attraction—it's about the thrill of transgression. Every time Samuel sees Romy, he hits her with another casually hostile negging remark. His "flirting" is an aggressive assault, and that’s precisely why she can’t resist it.
Babygirl becomes a shrewdly honest and engaging depiction of a "wrong" sadomasochistic affair. Unlike her previous film Bodies Bodies Bodies, which leaned into satirical slasher pulp, Reijn here embraces a more realistic tone. The film feels reminiscent of Fair Play but with the emotional resonance of Unfaithful. Nicole Kidman’s fearless performance is at the core of what makes this movie work.
Straddling the identities of mother, boss, adulterer, and submissive, Kidman’s Romy embodies complexity, much like a walking mood ring. Her character draws on a hidden truth—people in positions of power often fantasize about submission. While prominent male executives have been stereotypically linked to BDSM fantasies, we rarely see a corporate woman portrayed in the same light. Babygirl turns the gender tables, evoking comparisons to 9½ Weeks as Samuel gradually breaks down Romy’s defenses. In one key scene, he sends her a glass of milk during after-work drinks, declaring, "You’re my baby girl." And when she drinks it, she silently affirms, "Yes, I am."
In their hotel room meetings, Kidman oscillates between submission and resistance, and the emotions playing across her face are nothing short of astonishing. She lets us witness the erotic battle tearing Romy apart. The true danger, however, isn’t the S&M kink—it’s the breaking of every corporate rule governing workplace relationships. Samuel exploits these corporate protocols, using them to seduce Romy. The fact that she’s risking her entire career by having an affair with an intern only adds to the allure. Kidman’s genius lies in portraying this recklessness as utterly human—the desperate expression of a woman too compartmentalized to reconcile the different parts of herself.
Does it all come crashing down? Babygirl follows a more conventional trajectory in some aspects (including one memorable eye-candy moment, where Samuel dances to George Michael’s "Father Figure"). But one of the film’s strengths is avoiding the roller-coaster final act expected of an "erotic thriller." Instead of moralizing in the vein of Fatal Attraction, Reijn aims to liberate characters already busy punishing themselves. The film takes unexpected turns, and that’s because its ambition goes beyond fueling the thriller—it seeks to authentically depict women’s erotic experiences in an age of control.
TCG Score: ☆☆☆☆ [4.0/5]
Babygirl will hit theaters on December 25!
Watch The Trailer for BabyGirl Below
Directed by: Halina Reijn.
Written by: Halina Reijn.
Produced by: Halina Reijn, David Hinojosa, & Julia Oh.
Executive Producers: Christine D’Souza Gelb, Erika Hampson, & Zach Nutman.
Main Cast: Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, Antonio Banderas, Sophie Wilde, Gaite Jansen, Izabel Mar, Esther McGregor, Vaughan Reilly, Victor Slezak, Anoop Desai, Bartley Booz, Maxwell Whittington-Cooper, Leslie Silva, & Dolly Wells.
Cinematographer: Jasper Wolf.
Composer: Cristobal Tapia de Veer.
Production Companies: A24, 2AM, & Man Up Films.
Distributor: A24.
Runtime: 114 minutes.
Rated: R.
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