‘Babygirl’ film review: Terrific performances in a film about lust without caution

Just when you thought Nicole Kidman could surprise you no more, she’s gone and done it again.

In Halina Reijn’s erotic drama Babygirl, Kidman is fierce, needy and vulnerable, up for humiliation and willing to lay herself bare. The wear and tear is visible on her cosmetically altered face and skinny body. The film’s heroine is concerned about ageing too, which adds an extra edge to her relationship with a much younger intern.

That Romy (Kidman) heads a robotics company is no coincidence. In the age of automation and artificial intelligence, Romy seeks a specific kind of human experience that is missing from her marriage, despite no lack of ardour from her husband Jacob (Antonio Banderas).

It’s recognition at first sight, rather than love, between Romy and the new company intern Samuel (Harris Dickinson). Their relationship is enthralling for both not only because it’s inappropriate. Samuel understand Romy’s desire for dominance, leading to an affair that questions the power dynamic between boss and employee, man and woman.

Babygirl is out in Indian cinemas with minor cuts. The 115-minute tale of lust without caution creates tension by juxtaposing the illicit nature of the relationship, in which time seems to stop and the venues for the assignations don’t matter, with the...

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