In this steamy, New York set drama, a married CEO Romy Mathis (Nicole Kidman), embarks on a role bending romance with a much younger company intern, Samuel (Harris Dickinson).
I definitely had mixed feelings about Babygirl. Kidman and Dickinson have undeniable chemistry and their encounters are reminiscent of the popular erotic thrillers of the 80’s and 90’s. However, whilst Halina Reijn directs with flare, her screenplay is not so impressive. The pair’s motivations become strangely muddled, with the overheated atmosphere obscuring any narrative clarity.
There is also a subtext about how hard it is to be a female boss in the corporate world but that is not really explored in any detail or meaningful way. There are, amongst that, though, two outstanding scenes: a heady one in a nightclub and an acerbic meeting between Romy and her boss.
Antonio Banderas has the thankless role of Romy’s confused husband but he manages to give the best performance in some time. In many ways, the most interesting character is Romy’s assistant, Esme, played by Sophie Wilde but she is not on screen enough.
Rating: 6 out of 10