The film Babygirl, currently in cinemas, has Nicole Kidman once again doing the rounds on the awards circuit. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama, but lost out on a few weeks ago to Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres for her role in I’m Still Here.
Nevertheless, Kidman’s performance has been hailed as “brave” for her exploration of female sexual desire as high-powered CEO, Romy Mathis, who puts her career and family on the line when she begins an affair with an intern. The film was written, directed and produced by Dutch actress Halina Reijn, and stars Harris Dickinson as the much younger and sexually dominant intern.
Halina, you wrote Babygirl as a letter to yourself. What did you learn from it?
Halina Reijn: I started writing with a specific question in mind: is it possible to love all the different parts of myself, not just the ones I’m proud of and like to present to others but also the parts I’m more ashamed of, the flaws. I wrote it as a tribute to a woman who’s trying to become more her authentic self.
Nicole, you’re always on the lookout for interesting female filmmakers. What made you want to work with Halina?
Nicole Kidman: I saw Instinct [by Reijn] which was an unusual, bold film. She sent me the script for Babygirl and immediately I said “yes”.
Harris, what attracted you to the project. What did you find intriguing about Samuel? How tricky was it to play a character who’s both assertive and vulnerable?
Harris Dickinson: I knew Nicole was playing Romy, which was exciting for me as an actor. I loved that there was humour and nuance in the script.
Nicole, what’s Romy’s power? What was it like to learn from her and understand her?
NK: Romy has achieved an enormous amount yet she still has inner conflict about what she actually wants. Her power is that she can do everything, but is she being authentic to herself? She’s at the height of her career and her life yet she’s willing to sabotage it because she’s at a crossroads. She’s on an emotional and sexual odyssey.
Harris and Nicole, what was it like to play the sexy motel scene?
NK: Halina describes that scene as a whole relationship in 12 hours. We run the gamut of emotions.
HR: They go through all the chapters; falling in love, getting to know each other, explore the sexual dynamic that they have, fighting, being embarrassed, getting bored, breaking up, laughing — but condensed. That’s technically hard to do because it’s about performance between the characters and for the audience as they try to feel out their specific dynamic. It’s the scene that defines the movie.
Halina, what importance did the music score play in setting the mood of the film?
HR: Yes, people might know the composer, Cristóbal Tapia de Veer, from The White Lotus. He has a quality in his music that’s both primal and playful. The scenes are played with high stakes — sometimes the characters are blackmailing each other, Romy can lose everything, her job, her marriage, her family — but we had to signal to the audience that it is always just a sexual game, a fable, a comedy of manners. You’re allowed to laugh, and you’re allowed to be aroused. The music enables that in a genius way using their breath, sampled from the scenes mixed with wolf and dog sounds.
How is this different to other films which explore the relationships of women in power?
NK: Power is constantly in play in the film.
HR: Many stories until now have been told by men. Women’s stories are different — not better. My inspiration came from classical plays, Shakespeare, Ibsen, O’Neill and the thrillers from the 90s which were written and directed by men. I took archetypes from those plays and films and interpreted them my own way. A female gaze is different to a male gaze but the film is just as much about masculinity as it is about femininity. The film asks of Samuel, “Who am I supposed to be as a man? What am I allowed to do?” They meet each other in a space of vulnerability. They’re both at times submissive and dominant.
How do the characters navigate the relationship?
HD: Samuel starts a game of trying to pierce Romy’s facade to see how she’ll respond.
NK: Samuel is able to sense that Romy wants to relinquish control more than her husband can. He can read her very quickly. The chemistry between them is that they’re able to sense each other. It’s visceral more than intellectual. It’s a dangerous game that excites them both.
HR: They’re both wounded and they play this game with each other to explore that and perhaps heal it. The whole film can be read as Romy’s fantasy — it starts and ends with a sexual climax.
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