Halina Reijn Archives - Sean Kelly On Movies

A CEO enters into a submissive affair with her much younger intern in Babygirl. Romy Mathis (Nicole Kidman) is the CEO of a tech company, who is not fully satisfied sexually by her longtime husband Jacob (Antonio Banderas). Romy's company hires a new young intern, Samuel (Harris Dickinson), who chooses Romy to be his mentor. Romy gets excited by the level of control Samuel exhibits, which soon lead to the two entering into a submission sexual relationship. Babygirl Synopsis Babygirl is an erotic thriller written and directed Halina Reijn (Bodies Bodies Bodies). The title is a reference to a term given to submissive females in BDSM relationships with a dominating male. However, the twist to this dynamic is how Nicole Kidman's Romy Mathis is a woman in power being seduced by an intern, played by Harris Dickinson (Triangle of Sadness, Blitz). The film also features a subplot involving Romy's assistant Esme, played by Sophie Wilde (Talk to Me), who throughout the film is trying to talk to Romy about a possible promotion. When Romy enters into an affair with Samuel, she is excited by the level of danger that it brings. However, Samuel begins to cross a line when he shows up at Romy's home and begins dating Esme on the side. This soon results in Romy having to face the possible consequences of a woman in power entering into a sexual relationship with an underling. My Thoughts on Babygirl In its most simple description, Babygirl can be seen as a modernized update of the 2002 BDSM romantic comedy Secretary, except with the power dynamics reversed somewhat. The perverse appeal of Babygirl involves seeing 57-year-old Nicole Kidman get seduced by 28-year-old Harris Dickinson. However, as Kidman's Romy Mathis is a CEO, the automatic assumption of those who discover the affair is that it is this woman in power seducing her underling. Babygirl is arguably the most sexually charged film Nicole Kidman has starred in since Eyes Wide Shut 25 years ago. Indeed, the film kicks off with Romy mid-orgasm as she is in bed with her husband Jacob, somewhat ironically played by Antonio Banderas. However, it is soon revealed that Romy was faking her pleasure, as she proceeds to go watch porn to finish herself off. Likely due to the film having a female writer/director in Halina Reijn, Babygirl is a very sexually intense film, though there's very minimal nudity. Reijn has the difficult task of making Babygirl a sex positive film, while also having to acknowledge the moral grey line of a CEO entering into a sexual relationship with an intern. There is one scene in the film in particular, which amounts to what I call passive-aggressive blackmail, which also provides conflicting interpretations of gender roles for women at the workplace. While it holds minimal bearing to the plot as a whole, hence can be skipped over, I have to warn those prone to epileptic seizures that Babygirl features a scene set in a nightclub, which features incredibly intense strobing. The scene is so intense that even I, a guy who can typically handle such scenes, had to close my eyes for the duration. I do not know why Halina Reijn decided to stage the scene in this manner. The biggest audience for Babygirl are likely going to be those who enjoy steamy romance novels, Fifty Shades of Grey, or are generally into DD/BG BDSM relationships. The film is also in some ways fighting back against the ageism in Hollywood by casting Nicole Kidman in a very sexual role in her late-50s. Altogether, while Babygirl is most definitely not a film for everyone, it is certain to excite its target demographic.