Coming strong with her 2022 English-language debut Bodies Bodies Bodies, a sinister yet engaging slasher, Dutch director Halina Reijn has managed to bring another character-centric movie with a complex narrative- Babygirl. This movie, an erotic thriller, delves deep into the understanding of the youth's psychosocial dynamics, focusing mainly on a middle-aged woman (Nicole Kidman) finding freedom in her suppressed desires.
'Babygirl', unpredictable and tantalizing with a mix of taut tension and satirical humor, strikes a similar thematic wind as Reijn’s 2019 debut feature, 'Instinct'. It frequently interrogates who controls the perilous game of seduction by constantly shifting lines while considering desire, gender roles, and power dynamics. With shades from Steven Shainberg’s 'Secretary', it maps the female perspective.
Kidman portrays Romy Mathis, CEO of an automation firm in New York working on a warehouse delivery system. She has two teenage daughters and a successful husband (Antonio Banderas). The narrative takes an intriguing turn as Romy's performative role in the bedroom is exposed when she seeks pleasure by watching explicit content after her husband falls asleep. The movie fashions Romy as a woman of many layers, not the stereotypical hard-nosed businesswoman, hinting at her complexity.
A fresh intern, Samuel (Harris Dickinson), catches Romy's eye, and their interactions blur the power dynamics, especially with Samuel's nonchalant comment, "I think you like to be told what to do." This inappropriate remark initiates their complicated relationship.
Reijn teases out the storyline like a ‘90s sexual predator thriller, but subverts expectations by unmasking Romy’s part in her subjection. She plays with query, threat, indignation, and control throughout Romy and Samuel's relationship. Eventually, the secret relationship threatens to unravel Romy's life when her partial confession to her husband and Samuel's involvement with another woman at her office is revealed.
The movie gracefully turns around potential catastrophes, proving to be different than the standard formula for such films. Romy, ultimately accepting the full range of her desires as valid and free from shame, sees the concept of control as something that can be pleasurably flexible rather than rigid. What makes the movie engaging is not just the actors’ apt interpretation of the challenging plot, but also the movie's refusal to enforce judgement and strict moral codes, making it a tantalizing and unconventional variation of the erotic genre.
