‘Babygirl’ Review: Halina Reijn Proves Herself With A Bang

After two years of iconic AMC Theaters ads, Nicole Kidman returns to the big screen with a bang after an unfortunate Aquaman sequel and an okay-ish Netflix movie, The Family Affair, with A24’s steamy erotic thriller Babygirl. Read our Babygirl review below.  

Dutch Director Halina Reijn has proven not to be messed with. After directing the 2022 film Bodies Bodies Bodies, a movie that received tons of acclaim, Reijn returns to the directing chair with a self-written thriller, Babygirl. The film stars Nicole Kidman as Romy and Harris Dickinson as Samuel, with Antonio Banderas and Sophie Wilde playing supporting roles. Kidman’s lead struggles with the ups and downs of work-life balance and the sexual frustration that can arise from such a situation, soon taking a keen eye on a young intern – Harris Dickinson’s Samuel.

This review contains spoilers for A24’s Babygirl. 

It’s a miracle that yet another sexual movie is able to keep you on the edge of your seat for so long, but Halina Reijn has definitely proven her screenwriting abilities. Babygirl invites anyone who may be confused about their sexuality or uneducated about the BDSM lifestyle to still be able to watch the movie and empathize with any of the three main characters. 

Romy’s dissatisfaction with her partner is a trope that many people fall through in their work lives. Cheating scandals, though highly stigmatized, still remain common. I think the way Babygirl handles this situation, by subtly guiding the audience through any confusion they might have about Samuel’s lifestyle, helped make sure the structure of the movie never fell through. 

Romy also has to navigate how she feels about never having lived her sexual fantasies in real life. This stands as a very real issue for many people who are so focused on their careers or lives that they never surrender to their sexual health. We see Romy open the movie with a clear porn addiction as she fingers herself before the title card; her method of relieving herself, despite having a husband willing to have sex with her, before she meets Samuel. 

The film also explores how power dynamics work in the bedroom and how conversing in a business setting can translate to how you’d like to be treated. All of these puzzle pieces portray an introductory feel to how affairs and scandals manifest, leading the viewer to feel some sort of sympathy, despite the reckless behavior, throughout. 

Nicole Kidman may have acted her butt off, but Harris Dickinson is the highlight of the film. His characterization of Samuel as a “young and innocent” type is immediately contrasted with the heavy amount of sexual experience he has. Samuel clearly holds so much energy and intelligence that it affects his ability to live a social life without analyzing what the other person is “actually” saying. There’s a scene where he and Romy are having a conversation in the car, and he’s truly unable to discern what the subconscious messages she’s sending him are. It’s a revealing scene about Samuel’s character and what he uses to contextualize his life, and Dickinson portrayed it so well. 

In all, I’d highly recommend Babygirl as one of the best movies released in 2024; and I believe many people would really enjoy the amount of twists and turns this story offers. 

Babygirl stars Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, Antonio Banderas, and Sophie Wilde. The film was written and directed by Halina Reijn and is now playing in theatres worldwide courtesy of A24 and it’s distribution partners. 

Thanks for reading this Babygirl review, stay tuned for more reviews here at Feature First.