#TIFF24: “BABYGIRL” REVIEW

By Mr. Will Wong

Nicole Kidman is an Actress at the highest level possible and her latest effort BABYGIRL is an affirmation.

Actress-turned-Director Halina Reijn helms this very intimate look at female sexuality from a distinctive female lens. We meet Romy (Kidman), a high-power CEO who engages in an illicit affair with an intern at her company, Samuel (Harris Dickinson). Reijn delves into the power in their relationship and ultimately it is the intern who holds the upper-hand, with the threat of him destroying everything she has worked so hard to build including her career and family. BABYGIRL is a portrait of a woman in power and her world unravelling, but the question is why she makes the choices she does.

While sex is an integral component of the Film, it serves as a device to helping us try to understand this complex woman and her past. Kidman soars in the deep complexity of the assignment. Her Romy isn’t here to win hearts, Kidman is here to take us into her world and struggle to understand herself. Dickinson, meanwhile, completely disappears into Samuel – a fearless young man who certainly knows how to push buttons.

Taking notes from ’90s Erotica Thrillers, BABYGIRL feels reminiscent of that era, yet is unmistakably now and could only have been made today. Reijn is an exciting new Filmmaker with something to say.

BABYGIRL screens at TIFF ’24 as follows:

Tuesday, September 10
VISA Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre
9:30 pm

Wednesday, September 11
Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
5:30 pm