(Review)
By Alexis Rosa
I was intrigued by the entire movie and left the theater satisfied with this erotic
workplace drama thriller; those four words alone should want to make you go see this
indie film. ‘Babygirl’ premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on August
30th, 2024, followed by a premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival on
September 10th, 2024, then with a wide theatrical release by A24 production company
on Christmas Day 2024.
The movie’s runtime is an hour and fifty-four minutes with an
‘R’ rating. It was directed, written, and produced by Halina Reijn who is named on IMDB
as “a renowned director, actress, author, and producer”. Other producers include
Christine D’Souza Gelb, Erika Hampson, David Hinojosa, Zach Nutman, and Julia Oh. It
starred Nicole Kidman who played Romy, Harris Dickinson who played Samuel, and
Antonio Banderas who played Jacob.
Nicole Kidman won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress
2024 award at the Venice Film Festival for her work in this movie. The summary for
‘Babygirl’ on IMDB is ‘A high-powered CEO puts her career and family on the line when
she begins a torrid affair with her much-younger intern’. One of the things I loved most
about this movie was the female empowerment. The character Romy is a female who is
in a position you’d typically see a man in with her career and her personal life. It’s
refreshing to see. She really does some questionable things, but you're somehow
rooting for her. Romy is not the typical woman.
Nicole Kidman portrays this flawlessly.She is a strong presence in this movie and carries herself strong/sexy. Harris Dickinson is an up-and-coming young actor who stood his ground with the experienced Nicole. He was also a strong presence in this movie and carried himself strong/sexy. His performance was so memorable. I definately expect to see him in a lot of future films.
The chemistry between Nicole and Harris was off the charts and set the movie apart. It
was electric every time they shared a scene. Antonio Banderas is just a fabulous,
seasoned actor who doesn’t have as much screen time but makes his presence known
when he is in his scenes. In one scene at the end of the movie his acting skills shine
through beautifully. His chemistry with Nicole Kidman is also excellent and they both
shine in their shared scenes. They bounce off each other well.
Sometimes movies like this can carry so much shock value but little plot this movie doesn’t do that at all. There is an equal amount of shock value and plot. The pacing had a natural rhythm and kept me engaged. The character development was meaningful and made sense. I went to go see this with my boyfriend off a whim and were glad we got to see this film in the
theatre.
My boyfriend, 27, said “this was a refreshing film”. This movie also kept him engaged and intrigued. He found it disturbingly beautiful. He thought the acting and the direction of the movie was done correctly. It’s one both of us would revisit and watch again.
The ending was not the typical ending you see for a plot like this which worked in its favor. I really liked the ending. I feel like indie movies like this never get the credit they deserve and get swept under the rug by other big blockbuster movies. This deserves all the props it has received and is an excellent movie to study. The cast and crew all stepped out of their comfort zones and put out something fresh and new.
The worldwide gross was $60,934,894 which is pretty impressive for a low budget indie film. It also has a meta score of 79 from critics.
Step out of your comfort zone with this indie film and see this movie. It's worth it.
A24 released "Babygirl" in theaters on Dec. 25, 2025 and is now avavilable on streaming
Comments