Film: Babygirl [2024] – Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, Antonio Banderas

Babygirl is one of those movies where the trailer is way better than the movie itself. A wannabe modern day Fifty Shades of Grey, without any shade.

Starring Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, and Antonio Banderas, the best performance isn’t by Kidman to be honest. If anything, Banderas looks more interested in being part of the movie than its main character.

Frankly, it’s clear what writer and director Halina Reijn aimed for here. A sexy thriller where the woman takes charge of her desires with her intern. However, the result feels bland. Babygirl wants to be challenging and incendiary, and it could’ve been all those things if it had a clearer through-line of what it’s really trying to say.

What I like about this movie is that the woman decides that the kink isn’t all that bad, and everyone else just needs to get their mind around it.

What I didn’t like about the movie is almost everything else. Dickinson tries his best to present as the kinky lover. And it shines in the milk scene. But that’s it. There’s a lot that is supposed to be going on in this movie… But somehow, it didn’t hold for me as either an erotic film or a film that dealt with power dynamics in a substantive way. The movie never delivers the emotional payoff it seems to promise right from the get-go, leaving us, viewers, waiting in vain for something truly gripping or transformative.

We just never get it.

Should You Watch It?

You won’t miss any clever twists, there aren’t any. Kidman never abandons herself. We never see her absolute hunger for the young intern. The only kinky thing is Kidman drinking milk fully dressed on all fours.

Where Can I Watch It?

You can stream Babygirl on Prime Video.