Semi-seriously, did Nicole Kidman clone herself? She who has inspired AMC commercial memes has been tearing up the premium cable and streaming worlds in recent years. From David E. Kelley’s Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers, and The Undoing to Taylor Sheridan’s Lioness, along with Netflix’s The Perfect Couple and A Family Affair and Prime Video’s Expats, she seems to specialize in transforming limited series to continuing series. Somehow, she’ll star as Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta for Amazon, too.
Wait, her dance card (or cards) isn’t full yet. Nicole is also gearing up for A24’s Babygirl, an erotic thriller co-starring younger A24 vet Harris Dickinson (The Iron Fist). The film will soon take a bow on the festival circuit before heading into theaters, and above, the pair can be seen filming what appears to be a tense scene last December. This project is growing closer to go-time, so let’s get busy discussing… how these two apparently get busy.
Plot
Directed by Halina Reijn (Bodies Bodies Bodies), Babygirl stars Nicole Kidman as a high-powered CEO (and wife) who begins an affair with a much younger intern, portrayed by Triangle Of Sadness actor Harris Dickinson. This isn’t his first A24 rodeo after portraying a Von Erich brother in The Iron Fist, but he will get to strut his stuff in erotic thriller fashion next to Kidman’s seasoned work in similarly themed films like To Die For, The Paperboy, and Eyes Wide Shut. However, Babygirl will likely — as with most A24 films — have plenty up its sleeve to turn appearances on their heads.
*****
POTENTIAL SPOILERS BELOW
*****
The TIFF website stresses that this film is, yes, an erotic thriller, yet it digs into “emotional truths” and might be compared to Secretary (2022) starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Spader. Such analogies will not draw a full picture, according to TIFF programmer Anita Lee:
When Romy, the high-powered executive played by Nicole Kidman in the thrilling, sensual Babygirl, starts cheating on her urbane theatre director husband (Antonio Banderas), it’s not because their sex life has dried up. As the opening scene explicitly demonstrates, there’s still significant heat between them. But when he goes to sleep, Romy sneaks out of the room to finish, alone, what she clearly couldn’t achieve with him. Covering her mouth to stifle any noise, it’s made excessively clear that this is someone who struggles to articulate her desire.
Lee cautions “moralists” against what they might find as well:
When Romy meets Samuel (Harris Dickinson), an impertinent intern at her company who can intuit more about her than she intends to share – and who’s happy to take control – it’s only a matter of time before they find themselves in a seedy hotel together. They wrestle, literally and figuratively, over a twisty power dynamic. Romy’s age and position give her an advantage, but as Samuel reminds her, he could ruin her life with one phone call.
Meanwhile, Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera told Variety that Babygirl is “about a sadomasochistic relationship within an American corporation with the novelty that, compared to other similar films, the ending actually testifies to the differences between now and the past.” He further suggested that decades-ago-style ending expectations will be shattered.
Cast
Nicole Kidman is the CEO in a compromising position, and Harris Dickinson is her charismatic intern-turned-lover. Antonio Banderas portrays Kidman’s husband (oh boy), Jane Reno is a Kidman business rival, and Sophie Wilde steps up as an assistant who knows more than she cares to know.
Release Date
Babygirl will debut in festival fashion at this year’s Venice and TIFF extravaganzas. The film arrives in theaters on December 20, possibly as both awards fare and holiday counter programming.
Trailer
Apologies, but no trailer has surfaced yet. However, here is Kidman getting down (again) with the younger Zac Efron in Netflix’s A Family Affair (2024).