Warning: this article contains some spoilers for Babygirl.Halina Reijn’s new thriller Babygirl centers on a tech company CEO who begins an affair with an alluring intern at her company, risking everything in the process. Babygirl‘s cast is led by Nicole Kidman as Romy Mathis, along with great supporting performances by Harris Dickinson and Antonio Banderas as her intern and husband, respectively. The film, which tackles issues of desire, Sєxuality, power, and family, has received positive reviews, and Babygirl has even become one of A24’s highest-grossing movies ever, proving its success.
While Nicole Kidman is no stranger to the erotic thriller genre, Babygirl is an entirely different kind of film than Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut was for the A-list actor 25 years ago. In fact, the newer film gives Kidman a chance to showcase a whole different skill set and different desires as the primary focus of the film. With its updated approach to the erotic thriller genre, Babygirl‘s ending is even able to tie together Romy’s fantasies with the reality of her life as a mother and businesswoman, which ultimately adds something new and exciting to the genre.
Babygirl & Eyes Wide Shut Tackle Nicole Kidman’s Affairs Differently
The Two Films Approach Sєxuality And Affairs In Very Different Ways
Though both Babygirl and Eyes Wide Shut are erotic thrillers featuring great performances by Nicole Kidman, beyond the surface level similarities, the films are actually quite different in their approaches to Nicole Kidman’s affairs. While Eyes Wide Shut allows Kidman’s character Alice to detail her fantasy to her husband, Bill (Tom Cruise), the affair did not actually occur. While smoking weed in their home one night, Alice admits that she had been tempted to cheat on Bill and leave him and their daughter after meeting a military officer that she found attractive, creating doubts about her in Bill’s mind.
In contrast to Alice’s willingness to expose her inner desires, much to the chagrin of her husband, Romy does not speak to her husband about her Sєxual desires.
While Alice goes into explicit detail to her husband about the affair that she imagined having, she stopped before actually cheating on her husband. However, Alice’s imaginary affair in Eyes Wide Shut foreshadows Romy’s meeting with Samuel in Babygirl. In contrast to Alice’s willingness to expose her inner desires, much to the chagrin of her husband, Romy does not speak to her husband about her Sєxual desires. Instead, Romy secretly does have an affair that finally allows her to feel satisfied during Sєx.
Nicole Kidman received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in Babygirl.
Romy’s affair with Samuel in Babygirl is one that she explicitly tries to stay away from in the beginning of the film, knowing that it would hurt her husband. In this sense, the two films represent affairs in completely different ways. In Eyes Wide Shut, Alice seems to almost taunt Bill with her desires while maintaining that she did not actually cheat on him. In Babygirl, Romy does cheat on Jacob and feels intense guilt from having her fantasies met. Thus, the erotic thrillers each seem to question the nature of desire and the guilt that may accompany it.
Romy And Alice Have Very Different Marital Problems
Romy’s Marriage Seems Much More Stable Than Alice’s
How Eyes Wide Shut and Babygirl handle their characters’ marital problems seems intricately linked to how the films handle their affairs, since the marital problems are reflected in the desires of the characters. In general, Romy’s marriage in Babygirl seems much more stable than Alice’s in Eyes Wide Shut. Romy and Jacob seem to genuinely love each other and their two children, along with each being supportive of the other’s careers. Because their marriage does seem so stable, Romy is clearly very conflicted about her affair and knows her husband will be devastated.
In contrast, Bill and Alice’s relationship in Eyes Wide Shut appears far more antagonistic to viewers. When the two attend a Christmas party at the beginning of the film, they each dance and flirt with other people, and Alice becomes suspicious when Bill disappears for a long time, implying that she believes Bill would cheat on her if given the chance. Additionally, her story about the officer she wanted to have an affair with serves to show Bill that she could cheat on him too if she desired, creating a lack of trust from both sides.
Babygirl Makes Nicole Kidman’s Character The Focus, But Eyes Wide Shut Doesn’t
Eyes Wide Shut Gives Nicole Kidman A Supporting Role
Perhaps the biggest difference between Babygirl and Eyes Wide Shut is that Nicole Kidman’s character truly gets to be the focus in Babygirl. Though Alice’s flirting and admission of her desire to cheat play a critical role in Eyes Wide Shut, as they prompt Bill to go out for the night and encounter the ritualistic Sєx party, she is not truly the main character. The story is told through Bill’s perspective and the audience is expected to sympathize with him upon hearing of Alice’s desires.
Romy’s family and marriage are undeniably important to Babygirl, but the real purpose is to explore women’s desires in a way that is so often overlooked in film.
Alice is a supporting character in Eyes Wide Shut and her Sєxuality is explored to a lesser extent, but Romy gets to be the main character in Babygirl. From the outset, Babygirl is about Romy’s life, career, and hidden desires. Romy’s family and marriage are undeniably important to Babygirl, but the real purpose is to explore women’s desires in a way that is so often overlooked in film.
Babygirl‘s focus on Romy allows the movie to explore her decision-making and the risks involved in her affair. Though she ultimately goes through with the affair because it allows her to live out her fantasy of being dominated by Samuel, Romy is constantly reminded of the potential to lose everything. Her position of power over Samuel adds another layer to the situation, as she is able to reverse the leadership role that she fills in her daily life. Babygirl perfectly balances the exploration of power dynamics, risks, and the difference between love and desire through Romy’s relationships.
Babygirl’s Differences To Eyes Wide Shut Are Great For Nicole Kidman
The Newer Film Allows Kidman To Truly Shine
Her role as Romy Mathis in Babygirl is actually one of Nicole Kidman’s best performances, precisely because the role allows her talents to shine in a way that Eyes Wide Shut does not, or at least not to the extent that it should. While Alice is a great character, Romy has so much more depth. Babygirl makes full use of Nicole Kidman in the role because she brings Romy’s Sєxuality as well as her guilt to life. Kidman goes all in on Romy’s desire to be dominated, making the character believable, and she makes Romy sympathetic despite her affair.
In short, Romy’s complexity and Nicole Kidman’s ability to humanize her and make her feel real is supremely impressive.
While Romy’s actions are certainly morally questionable, Kidman’s portrayal of her as a woman who is incredibly successful yet unsatisfied in her personal life, is something that many viewers may find a kernel of truth in. In short, Romy’s complexity and Nicole Kidman’s ability to humanize her and make her feel real is supremely impressive. The role also points to Kidman’s enduring fame as a critically acclaimed leading woman, proving that the Babygirl actor will continue to deliver stellar performances as her career continues.
