No assembly RequireD

Everyone deserves a little treat. No matter where you are in life there is always room for some fun. BABYGIRL the latest from director Halina Reijn wants us to explore a world where the treats we deserve have become our worst enemy. To look at ourselves and see what happens when we villainize our most needed desires. It’s also another reason to have a horny Christmas movie starring Nicole Kidman. Twenty five years ago Kidman starred in Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut” an odyssey of sexual discovery and frustration. Only then Kidman was confident in her sexual escapades using her fantasies as a way to ridicule her over confident husband. This time around Kidman becomes the victim of her own desires. BABYGIRL is Reijn wanting to explore the corporate America world while also using it as simply a backdrop to show that no matter what industry one leads at the end of the day we all come home looking for comfort. However it is also a film that shows Rejin’s directing continues to be her script’s worst enemies. A mostly entertaining film that falls on its own ideas. One that feels shortened at nearly every turn. And for an erotic thriller (more so erotic comedy) the buildup is exciting but ask anyone and they will tell you the release is needed much more.

Romy Mathis cant come. The film begins with an ending. But not a happy one. As we see Kidman as Romy moan and thrust on top of her husband Jacob (Antonio Banderas) we can tell that its performative. The gasps are too extreme for the passionate sex Jacob is trying to have leaving Romy with having to deliver a fake orgasm all before sneaking off to watch porn and to make herself finish. But the porn she watches is telling, dominate and submissive with the woman being dominated Romy is able to come within seconds. But all this has to happen quickly because Romy is a CEO of a fast moving tech company implementing A.I. technology into the day to day business. So of course Romy does not have time for her assistant Esme (Sophie Wilde) to introduce her to the new interns. But what Romy quickly learns is one of those interns Samuel (Harris Dickinson) has already helped her out when a loose dog chased after her while Samuel calmed it down with a cookie. He always has cookies on him. Reijn doesn’t hide for a moment (nor should she) the sexual power Dickinson as Samuel carries. The glances towards Romy the quick comments telling her she shouldn’t drink coffee after lunch it all feels belittling. And yet Romy doesn’t seem to mind as much as she protests. BABYGIRL is the erotic Christmas movie that you’ve been missing, or at least it really believes it is.

It doesn’t take long before Romy and Samuel develop an affair of submission and dominate. And to say these moments of cat and mouse power play are the film’s most promising moments seems like an easy answer. Yes it involves roleplay involving two incredibly attractive people allowing the film to fill the quota of white boy of the month film twitter obsession. But above this is witness a woman allowing herself to be removed from all her intense commanding day to day requirements that so many expect from women in powerful positions. Everyone is waiting for Romy to fail especially the men of the board who vulture around her in even her most successful days. Kidman is always able to deliver a biting performance and as Romy there is a vulnerability often missing from the “boss queen” roles miniseries writers love to give her. Reijn playful uses these scenes involving the sexual interactions between Romy and Samuel to bounce between who truly has the power. This isn’t the film of one woman asking to be dominated but rather giving up enough control while still being able to feel a sense of equal ownership with a new lover.

BABYGIRL knows it has Kidman at the forefront and as best as it tries to never be the Nicole Kidman show the film still suffers from the characters around here merely being props. Now male filmmakers have been using women as prop and plot devices for as long as modern film has been around, but Reijn doing the same thing isn’t a move of empowerment but rather a sore thumb in film that wants to thrive on unique character building. Samuel is a little more fleshed out but the film never wants him to be too mysterious yet never lets us see the world he belongs to or why this attraction to Romy goes beyond work flirtation. A subplot focusing on Romy’s oldest daughter and her cheating on her high school girlfriend tries to parallel Romy’s affair with Samuel but while somewhat humorous it falls flat. The same goes for Romy’s husband Jacob. Antonio Banderas nearly steals every scene he scene he is in holding a nervousness about his wife balancing the idea that any spouse doesn’t want to doubt their marriage. Adding to this is the notion that no man can believe his wife isn’t happy sexually. The moments are short but always engaging.

Reijn’s directing being her own worst enemy is very much in play when BABYGIRL reaches its third act that feels less of a surprise and more of just a passing of time. The steaminess of the affair had to find consequences at some point but the film never plays out what these feelings are. Even when Romy’s secretary threatens her exposure unless a promotion (a commentary on women refusing to help women which falls on its own legs) it all feels like a missed opportunity for Romy and Samuel as characters and more so for Dickinson as a performer. When he is on screen with Kidman the film is electric and yet so much of the titillating sequences feel tame as the film progresses. The erotic thriller barely exists anymore due to puritan behavior from general audience so BABYGIRL will seem like hardcore porn compared to what today delivers and yet it is as tame as a HBO miniseries believing its risqué. Perhaps that is the point since Romy makes herself believe her normal desires are taboo and should be disgusted by them. But the film’s dilemmas are hard to match especially when nobody surrounding Romy finds her sexual fantasies strange or unusual. The film is not normalizing extreme sexual appetite because at the end of the film nothing is all that unique. Even when the film finds its way to a literal climax the film never entices itself in the way it believes. If you are going to promise the Christmas treat to fill our desires at least make us get on the floor and beg, don’t just hand us a stale treat. Even when the buildup is quite exciting the release has to be all the better.

B

BABYGIRL WILL BE RELEASED IN THEATERS FROM A24 ON DECEMBER 25