Director Halina Reijn breaks down the music and inspiration (including her own on-screen nudity) of Harris Dickinson’s sensual shirtless hotel dance.

Nicole Kidman is basking in the positive reviews of her new erotic thriller Babygirl in which she plays Romy, a CEO who puts everything at risk for a romance with a much younger intern. All over the internet,

Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series spotlighting the scripts behind the year’s most talked-about movies continues with the Venice Film Festival-premiering Babygirl, A24 ’s erotic thriller from writer-director Halina Reijn that stars Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson. It hit theaters December 20.

This review contains spoilers for “Babygirl”  Halina Reijn’s “Babygirl” (2024) stars Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson in what promises to be an exciting exploration of sexual desire, repression, and power.

Writer and director Halina Reijn’s erotic thriller centers on sadomasochism in a relationship where the older partner is a woman. The film’s shrewdness is undercut by a heavy-handed narrative that fails to satisfy.

While there have been debates about whether or not the film fully delivered (there are some Twitter truthers who argue it wasn't that kinky), the general public can all agree on one thing: the film's "Father Figure" scene was pure cinema.

The movie, starring Nicole Kidman, operates at the level of the female gaze. Its inversion of erotic thriller tropes leads to fascinating but, at times, tepid results.

Women who are older are often not shown as sexual in film, and it was refreshing to see something a little different.” Reijn chose to input aspects of her sexual relationships into the film, creating a more personal experience as the writer and director.

Kidman, who won an Oscar for playing Virginia Wolf in Stephen Daldry’s 2002 period drama The Hours, should be in line for another for Babygirl. The competition will be tough, especially from Demi Moore in The Substance, but this performance is a career-high for the Australian actor.

Babygirl Director Halina Reijn Says THIS ‘Sensual’ Nicole Kidman Scene From The Film Happened To Her In Real Life

Nicole Kidman stars in controversial erotic drama Babygirl, pushing boundaries as a CEO drawn into a complex affair with a young intern.

Elizabeth Brady ’25 is a public policy major and an English minor, and she is a member of Alpha Chi Omega. She loves art, music and movies. Email her at [email protected] 25th is usually a pretty big deal to people.