06/01/25

Cineworld, Edinburgh

It’s ironic to note that while most 18 certificate films released in recent times have been perfectly happy to depict characters being shot, stabbed and bloodily hacked to pieces, when it comes to scenes of a sexual nature, all but the most fearless filmmakers shy away from the subject. Writer/director Halina Reijn’s last film, the enjoyable slice-and-dice romp, Bodies Bodies Bodies belongs squarely in the first camp. Babygirl, on the other hand, sets out its stall in the latter and strides boldly across a landscape where few others dare to tread.

Romy (Nicole Kidman) is to all intents a powerful woman, the CEO of a major company and married to a (presumably successful) theatre director, Jacob (Antonio Banderas). The couple have two teenage daughters to their credit and seem to be blissfully happy. When we first meet them, they’re having sex. Romy appears to achieve an enthusiastic climax – so why does she feel compelled to slip away immediately afterwards and watch porn on her laptop, a submissive woman being sexually dominated by a man? The quiet orgasm she has this time, we feel sure, is more genuine than its noisy predecessor.

On her way to work, Romy chances upon an incident in the street, a young stranger handling an aggressive dog, making it obey him with a single word. This event kindles something within Romy and when, shortly afterwards, she is introduced to a bunch of new interns, she instantly recognises Samuel (Harris Dickinson), as the guy she saw earlier. Something clicks between them and it isn’t very long before the two of them have launched themselves into an intense, secret and potentially dangerous sub-dom affair. As things begin to develop between them, the relationship threatens to cost Romy everything: her family, her job, her sanity…

If this sounds like the plot of some second-rate bodice ripper, don’t be misled. Babygirl is much more nuanced than a plot summary might ever suggest. Kidman launches herself fearlessly into the piece, demonstrating how somebody can be compelled and pushed to the limit by their inner yearnings, how these compulsions can shape and dominate her life, pushing beyond the boundaries of her carefully constructed persona. Dickinson offers the latest chameleon change in his varied career, playing Samuel as an opportunistic hustler: gauche, unpredictable, never entirely in control of his own impulses, but happy enough to take the ride and see where it leads him.

While the film’s intentions are evident, it perhaps pulls too many punches in its second half, when, after a messy confrontation, Romy realises that the real problem is her own sense of shame. If she can embrace her kink, then she can be true to herself – and maybe Jacob can accept her as she really is. But perhaps this is a little too pat to be entirely convincing.

Babygirl is, for the most part, well-handled, but it does feel ultimately like a missed opportunity. I’d like to have seen it take some wilder swings in its latter stages, but I applaud Reijn’s courage for daring to go there in the first place. Anyone hoping for a violent and bloody conclusion will be very disappointed.

3.6 stars

Philip Caveney