Nicole Kidman expressed feeling “exposed and vulnerable” as her latest film, the erotic thriller Babygirl, premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Friday. The seasoned actor takes on a daring role, far removed from her usual repertoire, portraying Romy, a powerful New York CEO who engages in a sado-masochistic affair with a young intern, played by Harris Dickinson. This intense relationship threatens her marriage to her husband, played by Antonio Banderas, and her family life. The film opens and closes with a provocative climax, weaving a story filled with desire, power, and psychological manipulation, leaving audiences on edge throughout.
“This definitely leaves me exposed and vulnerable and frightened and all of those things when it’s given to the world,” Kidman said during a press conference ahead of the premiere. “But making it with these people here, it was delicate and intimate and very, very deep. Right now, we’re all a bit nervous.”
A Bold Exploration of Female Desire
Babygirl is one of 21 films competing for the prestigious Golden Lion prize at the festival. It is the third directorial venture of Dutch filmmaker Halina Reijn, who also penned the screenplay. The film delves into themes of female sexual desire and power dynamics, flipping traditional roles and expectations in unexpected ways. Reijn’s bold narrative is a fresh take on the erotic genre, reminiscent of classics like Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct, but with a modern twist that reflects women’s experiences in an age of control and autonomy.
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“I’m very delighted to be able to make a film about female desire, but it’s also a film about a woman in an existential crisis and it has many layers,” Reijn stated.
Kidman, who previously explored the erotic thriller genre in Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut in 1999, found herself drawn to the complexities of the story. “I want to examine human beings,” she said. “I want to examine women onscreen, I want to examine what it means to be human and in all facets of that and the labyrinth of that.”
Critical Acclaim and Comparisons
Early reviews of Babygirl have been largely positive, with Variety lauding Kidman as “fearless” in her portrayal, capturing “something genuine about women’s erotic experience in the age of control.” IndieWire described the film as “sexy, darkly funny, and bold,” commending it for revitalizing a genre that had seemingly faded since its peak in the 1980s and 90s.
Kidman’s performance in Babygirl resonates with the same fearless energy that characterized last year’s Golden Lion winner, Poor Creatures by Yorgos Lanthimos, in which Emma Stone shattered Hollywood norms with her unapologetic portrayal of a reanimated corpse.
Championing Female Voices in Film
Wearing a stunning two-tone Schiaparelli gown, Kidman arrived on the red carpet, underscoring her commitment to supporting women in film. “I want to put my weight behind a lot of women now in terms of directors, to try to change the ratio,” she emphasized. Despite progress, female directors remain underrepresented at major film festivals, with Reijn being one of only seven women among the 21 directors competing for the top prize this year.
Having a female director at the helm of Babygirl was a crucial element for Kidman. “It’s told by a woman through her gaze… that’s to me what made it so unique,” she explained. “Suddenly I was going to be in the hands of a woman with this material, and it was very, very deep to be able to share those things and very freeing.”
Kidman also downplayed concerns about nudity in the film, emphasizing the storytelling aspect. “I will just completely abandon (myself) to the story, to the nature of the character I’m playing, so I don’t think about bodies per se, I just think about how do we tell the story,” she noted.
A Tribute to Self-Love and Liberation
Director Reijn highlighted that at its core, Babygirl is a meditation on self-acceptance. “Can I love myself in all my different layers?” she asked, hoping the film will resonate as a celebration of self-love and personal liberation.
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