The erotic thriller was for a time, a long-gone genre, ending with Basic Instinct and Eyes Wide Shut. However, the themes of sexual desire and fantasy have made an astronomic resurgence in the last year or so, with films like The Substance, Anora and Challengers. The desire for more sexually taboo stories has been on show for some time. Indeed, Babygirl, a drama with deep taboo themes, is another to add to the list.
This is not some hidden away idea. The film’s director Halina Reijn, makes the concept of sexual desire explicit in the opening scene, comparing sex and transaction of an Amazon-adjacent delivery company, to which Nicole Kidman’s Romy is CEO. When she meets, Harris Dickinson’s Samuel on her commute to work there is an immediate connection. But as she later discovers, this connection will enter the workplace, with Dickinson, a new intern at the company.
Dickinson’s intern is casual, calm and collected. Dressed scruffily in a suit with his top button undone, but nevertheless confident and assured in his own skin; willing and determined to get what he wants. His appearance contrasts Kidman’s well-dressed CEO, with both a large suburban estate and a chic city apartment. Yet, despite having it all, she is somewhat dissatisfied. This gives a platform to propel the affair narrative forward. However, whilst there is often a form of lust and thrill in this genre of film, Reijn’s film is cold, slimy and icky. A film with such a bleak outlook on life, telling us “We are all irrelevant”. Full of unlikable characters, clunky editing and little to no energy or freneticism.
The film, particularly in the first half is hollow. Not allowing enough time to properly lay out the characters. You only get a sense of who these people are through making observations in dress sense or mannerisms, rather than integrating moments in the script to show the audience who the characters are. Likewise, Babygirl fails to create an intriguing angle of lust and desire for the central relationship. Instead, it is uncomfortable and out of place.
Especially for Romy, whose underdeveloped husband, played marvellously by Antonio Banderas, seems like the perfect form of partner. Supporting his successful other half and focusing on looking after his two daughters. It seems unfair for Romy to pursue extra-curricular sexual activity without a form of reason. Or indeed if this was the case, have a form of consequence.
However, instead, she is a character rewarded for her infidelity. The sexual turn towards the midpoint feels unearned, whilst Samuel likewise feels sleazy, manipulative and conniving. Although the coldness of the central figures may be by design, the execution is poor. It is a messy film without a clear message on desire and fantasy with somewhat amoral characters who are unopen to those closest to them.
Although Babygirl has the potential to be an intriguing film about sexual desire, its poor and messy execution of its premise leaves it cold and empty, repulsive and slimy, without consequence or catharsis.
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