Halina Reijn’s erotic drama ‘Babygirl’ became one of the most talked-about premieres of 2024. The film, acclaimed by critics and bringing Nicole Kidman the Best Actress award at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, tells the complex story of Romy.
Romy is a successful CEO of a major American company who seems to have everything for happiness: a loving husband, two children, and a brilliant career. Everything changes when a young intern joins the company, and a passionate affair ignites between them, awakening hidden desires and dangerous fantasies. Alongside Kidman, the film features Harris Dickinson as the intern Samuel and Antonio Banderas as Romy’s husband Jacob.
Given the storyline, the film contains numerous explicit scenes. The filming process proved so intense that Kidman reached the brink of what she described as “sexual burnout.” Although she had previous experience with nude roles, most notably in the cult film Eyes Wide Shut, working on Babygirl became a true challenge for her.
She admitted that there were moments on set when she felt overwhelmed and emotionally drained, to the point of wanting to avoid physical intimacy altogether. These experiences occurred so frequently that she almost burned out during production.
An intimacy coordinator was present on set, helping the actors feel safer. Still, the key figure in creating a space of trust was director Halina Reijn, who allowed the cast freedom and openness. Kidman emphasized that it would have been far more difficult for her had the director been a man, recalling the grueling process of filming Eyes Wide Shut with Stanley Kubrick, where her partner was then-husband Tom Cruise. That project had been extremely demanding and, in her view, contributed to their divorce.
By contrast, the atmosphere on the set of Babygirl was entirely different. Kidman was able to express her feelings and boundaries openly, making the process more natural and creative. She credited her close collaboration with Reijn as the main reason the film turned out so well, stressing that she never felt exploited and instead felt like part of something shared.
Working alongside Harris Dickinson and Antonio Banderas also resulted in what she described as a true ensemble. The entire team treated each other with kindness, which allowed them to reveal the deeper emotional layers of the story.
Babygirl emerged not only as a film about passion and a forbidden affair but also as a work about personal boundaries, trust, and the courage to be vulnerable. For Nicole Kidman, the project marked an important new stage in her career.
