★★★★
Nicole Kidman has the dog in her and Harris Dickinson is the dog wrangler supreme, in Babygirl – a Secretary for 2024.
When high-powered warehouse automation CEO Romy (Kidman, on top form) is saved from an out of control dog by new company intern Samuel (Dickinson, superb), there begins a dark erotic power play between them.
But all of this unfolds against the backdrop of Romy’s family life with her husband (Antonio Banderas) and two children, her buried past growing up in a string of cults, and her desire to empower female colleagues like Esme (Sophie Wilde from Talk To Me – excellent). Can she explore her own desire without her world crashing down? Or is that exactly what she wants?
This is a darkly comic erotic drama about power, consent, desire and honesty. Nicole Kidman delivers a powerhouse performance; Harris Dickinson is a revelation. Babygirl is hot, heady, and very very horny.
Babygirl premiered at the Venice Film Festival ahead of a December US release and a January 2025 UK/Ireland release.
Whitlock&Pope 