Discover what is being said about Halina Reijn’s new film starring Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson with our review round up.
The Guardian: ** “Kidman has previously played not dissimilar roles in upscale metropolitan locations, in Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut and Jonathan Glazer’s Birth; there is nobody better at playing elegant and soignée and sophisticated. But she and Dickinson can’t deliver the erotic thrill of actual danger.”
Empire: **** “Of course, the film shifts course as the stakes rise, but by veering away from genre conventions Reijn promises something fresh and sees it through. Banderas is key here, portraying a pillar of patience and earnestness that evokes sympathy but never at the expense of Romy’s journey. And what a journey it is, one that pushes Kidman’s sensibilities to their limits, at times stripping her down and causing her whole body to sigh and crawl, recoil and unfurl. Through tender and empathetic filmmaking, we see a woman at her most alive.”
Vulture.com: “Babygirl isn’t really a romance, and it’s better for it, even if the film ends on a note that feels a little too neat for the vivid messiness of everything that comes before. It’s a self-love story, and part of that discovery is that it’s okay to let yourself be small for a while. More than okay — it might turn out to be pretty hot.”
BBC.com: **** “The lurching rhythm of their relationship keeps you on edge, but it’s also moving to see how tearful and confused Romy can be, and it’s darkly funny to see how she bluffs her way through her double life. Ultimately, though, Babygirl comes to seem genuinely romantic, because Romy and Samuel are fumbling their way towards a deeper understanding of each other. As uncomfortable as the film may be, it’s clear that Reijn loves and respects her damaged characters, even if they’re not sure of how they feel about themselves.”
Slant Magazine.com: *** “Some of this thematic thrust gets lost in the film’s third act, which incorporates elements of corporate satire as Romy’s assistant Esme (Sophie Wilde) begins to see the full picture of her boss’s activities. This mode pushes Babygirl into a more declarative state, but the meaning inside the messaging remains occluded enough to maintain Reijn’s rebellious, radical, yet respectful take on relationships. It’s not a film about saying the right thing so much as it’s about people mutually arriving at the right place—no matter the untidiness involved in getting there.”
Roger Ebert.com: *** 1/2 ““Babygirl” is a high-wire act. It’s a small miracle the film works as well as it does.”
The Hollywood Reporter: “Sexy, dark and unpredictable, with a tone that mixes tension and caustic humor, the movie occupies a thematic landscape not so distant from Reijn’s 2019 debut feature, Instinct, about a female prison therapist drawn into a risky infatuation with a rapist. As in that film, Babygirl repeatedly asks who’s in control in a dangerous game of seduction that keeps shifting the lines in its consideration of desire, gender roles and power dynamics. There are also distinct shades of Steven Shainberg’s Secretary, though the perspective here is very much female.”
Variety: “But one of the film’s strengths is that it avoids the sort of roller-coaster last act that we expect from an “erotic thriller.” There’s an old-school moralism at work in movies like “Fatal Attraction,” where the characters are punished for their sins. Reijn is after something different — she’s out to liberate characters who are too busy punishing themselves.”
The Upcoming: **** “Reijn’s third feature is an electrifying depiction of order and obedience, of not having it all until that very “all” is in jeopardy. Simultaneously a kinkier version of Kim Raver’s storyline in Lipstick Jungle and a somewhat demurer take on the plot of Secretary (with a more astute regard on power dynamics at the work place), Babygirl could easily end up becoming the phenomenon à la Saltburn for the generations with nostalgic memories of sleazy 90s erotic thrillers.”
Babygirl is out in cinemas on the 10th January.