Babygirl Review: I saw Babygirl (2024) by accident. It was better than expected.

Watch the trailer for this NSFW art piece right here.

My partner and I kicked off 2025 by going to check out the new Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown (2024). As a Bob Dylan fan since my late teens, I was pretty stoked. What better time to see it than New Year’s Day? We were both off of work, and everything else was closed! Date night!!!

Apparently, everyone else had the same idea. The movie was sold out, except for a few front-row seats that should come with two free neck massages. So, we opted to see something different. Guess what else was playing?

I saw the trailer for Babygirl (2024) during my TikTok travels. I didn't really intend to ever watch it–except maybe on a whim with my partner. Honestly, I kind of thought Nicole Kidman had already done this movie with Zac Efron a few months earlier in A Family Affair (2024), so it didn’t seem worth paying for. But this whimsical happenstance was enough to convince us. Our joint guilty pleasure is those somewhat corny but easily digestible romance movies, like the After franchise, which we’ve found our butts in theatre seats for multiple times. So, we said, "Fuck it, let’s go see Babygirl.”

The movie was like Fifty Shades of Grey (2015), but make it artsier—and to its credit, it probably succeeds. There is no shortage of moments where you’re cringing and looking away like it’s a horror movie (granted, it is a thriller), and if you see it in the theatre, it's hard not to have the sobering realization that you're watching this in a room full of strangers. At its core, though, I think the movie is trying to make you feel that discomfort. It reminds the audience how uncomfortable we are with sexuality by showing us an aging woman finally exploring her unique desires. We see Romy Mathis (Nicole Kidman), a high-powered CEO, unable to be vulnerable, even after 15 years of a seemingly good marriage. She does not feel able to express her sexual desires, while her husband, Jacob Mathis (Antonio Banderas) cannot understand that mutual satisfaction requires this expression, nor does he make any obvious effort to allow such to happen. Yet, when she finally does explore her sexuality, we as an audience might cringe. That discomfort is what feels intentional. We’re meant to wonder: Why does this make us uncomfortable? Is it because female sexuality is taboo? Is it because an older woman’s desire is unconventional? Because we don’t expect this from a woman in her position? Is it because it is infidelity? The film also examines how personal life impacts professional success, particularly for women. It raises questions: If a man were having an affair, would it similarly affect his career? Or are men allowed to separate the two in ways women cannot?

But does the film succeed in its aims? That’s a bit harder to answer, and it almost depends on your answers to the above questions. Romy isn’t a particularly likable character, at least not in the ways we are used to seeing our protagonists. She is certainly flawed, but flawed due to the weight of expectations and an unfulfilling sex life. Does it excuse cheating? Probably not, by most standards, but her flaws are not the point. Characters don’t need to fit moral expectations to teach us something. Despite Romy’s infidelity, audiences should consider why she’d been unable to express her desires all this time and how it led to her actions. How does contemporary society dictate women's sexual desires, and what are all of the facets of the issue? Your own answer to that question might determine how impactful the film is to you. It also might help you to have better sex, just saying.

I know there are plenty of people who will love or hate this movie for what is a fair interpretation: Is this slightly more socially-acceptable porn? But I think it is more than that. While I am not sure it sticks the landing in story entirely, it's an exploration of sexuality through the lens of a middle-aged woman that offers questions about why something makes us uncomfortable, and what led to the outcomes we see on screen. I do not doubt that some bigwigs pushed for it to have some trite aspects not unlike the forbidden romance films of the past, and I wish it explored the intricacies of failing romantic relationships by helping viewers understand why cheating despite high stakes may be alluring. But overall, it is as provocative as it intends to be. It's uncomfortable, compelling, and has us asking questions about why women might be dissatisfied. This makes it a work that takes the forbidden romance and makes it something worthy of consumption.

Rating: 3.5/5.

I still don't get why the skunk had to die, or what this dude's obsession with milk was. If you know, you know.