You can tell that the holiday family movies have been replaced by award-longing films when the opening week of January has proven with Nosferatu, We Live in Time and A Real Pain. Now we have Babygirl, a movie that has had a lot of word of mouth, mainly because of the subject matter of S&M. Only difference is that it’s from the female perspective. Sadly, while this film has already had accolades hailed onto it, it’s a very dull film that doesn’t give us anything different from what we’ve already seen in movies like Fatal Attraction, 9 1/2 Weeks and Fifty Shades of Grey. It also proves that to get a film like this to truly work, you need to care about the characters, which I didn’t.

Romy has everything: a high-powered job as a CEO of an automation company, a theatre director husband and two daughters. The relationship with her husband isn’t perfect, as she finds it hard to fully enjoy the lovemaking without having to use porn to help her complete the process. Then, a young Intern comes to the company, and she is fascinated by how brazen he is. It soon becomes clear that she wants to start an affair with Samuel, but she has the most to lose in this relationship.

Dutch-born actress turned writer and director Halina Reijn tries to bring a different angle to a well-worn tale of obsession, seen from the point of view of a woman who seems to have a perfect life and everything she could dream of. She is also older and should know better. Yet it doesn’t matter what age or where you are positioned in life; if you are looking for something dangerous or unique, you look for it regardless.

The trouble with the film is not from the filmmaking point of view. This handsomely made film uses the locations well and does sparkle. The problem is that you really don’t care about Romy and Samuel. Romy seems to be privileged and has the perfect life. Her husband dotes on her and her children, while somewhat different (one is a dancer and spends her time either spinning or dressing in unusual costumes, which does become a distraction), the other in that awkward age of finding herself and building a relationship with another girl. Her husband is successful and respected as a theatre director, and as for her own job, she is in the top position and doesn’t act like most CEOs would seem to act, respecting those around her.

Yet she isn’t satisfied and needs to seek fulfilment with a younger man, an intern who might be mysterious. It makes you think about CEOs’ power over their employees. In recent months, there have been plenty of stories about the abuse of power in big business, so surely a film like this doesn’t help the situation.

What also doesn’t work is the actual relationship. This doesn’t go far enough if someone is looking for something dangerous in their lives. Samuel may be enigmatic and turn the power game on its head by being the one with the orders, but it all feels far too safe. Fifty Shades of Grey may have been an awful film, but at least there was an element of risk in the character’s relationship. Even Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke, in 9 1/2 Weeks, took the process to the edge. The relationship is about a young man making his boss drink milk!

The performances are fine, with Harris Dickinson so good in Triangle of Sadness, being as mean and moody as Samuel. At the same time, Nicole Kidman, who has been touted as getting another Oscar nomination, is fine, but I didn’t think it was one of her best performances. In fact, a film similar to this was Eyes Wide Shut, and she was the best thing in that Stanley Kubrick disaster. The performance that worked for me was that of Antonio Banderas as the husband. The scene where he discovers the truth is a powerhouse, and he delivers.

Babygirl is a disappointment that might work for some, but I found it predictable and slow. It doesn’t push boundaries, which a film like this should, and it just becomes pulpy. When the highlight of the film is Dickinson dancing shirtless to George Michael’s Father Figure, it doesn’t exactly shock or outrage. Maybe we have forgotten how to do that anymore.

2 out of 5

Director: Halina Reijn

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, Antonio Banderas, Sophie Wilde, Ester McGregor, Vaughan Reilly, Victor Slezak, Leslie Silva

Written by: Halina Reijn

Running Time: 114 mins

Cert: 18

Release date: 10th January 2025