Babygirl (2024)
Country: NL/US
Technical: col/2.00:1 114m
Director: Halina Reijn
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, Antonio Banderas, Sophie Wilde
Synopsis:
The CEO of a packaging company is taken aback by the commanding manner of one of her interns, who exploits her fascination by provoking a manipulative sexual relationship with her.
Review:
Turning on its head the traditional gender roles (cf. Disclosure 1994) and incorporating the new power accorded victims of coercion since the 'Me too' movement, this very European sex melodrama hits some of the expected beats while omitting others. Its subtext seems to be that power bosses are closet masochists, effectively putting our abused heroine back in her gender box, before exposing it as a mere chrysalis when she finally regains confidence and puts her destructive fantasies back in the bedroom. Banderas is given the unenviable task of keeping up with all this, and acquits himself very well, but the analysis of workplace gender politics ultimately goes only skin deep (and Kidman bravely exposes herself on that count, at least), revealing a tired old infidelity narrative with voguish tucks and trimmings.
Country: NL/US
Technical: col/2.00:1 114m
Director: Halina Reijn
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, Antonio Banderas, Sophie Wilde
Synopsis:
The CEO of a packaging company is taken aback by the commanding manner of one of her interns, who exploits her fascination by provoking a manipulative sexual relationship with her.
Review:
Turning on its head the traditional gender roles (cf. Disclosure 1994) and incorporating the new power accorded victims of coercion since the 'Me too' movement, this very European sex melodrama hits some of the expected beats while omitting others. Its subtext seems to be that power bosses are closet masochists, effectively putting our abused heroine back in her gender box, before exposing it as a mere chrysalis when she finally regains confidence and puts her destructive fantasies back in the bedroom. Banderas is given the unenviable task of keeping up with all this, and acquits himself very well, but the analysis of workplace gender politics ultimately goes only skin deep (and Kidman bravely exposes herself on that count, at least), revealing a tired old infidelity narrative with voguish tucks and trimmings.
Country: NL/US
Technical: col/2.00:1 114m
Director: Halina Reijn
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, Antonio Banderas, Sophie Wilde
Synopsis:
The CEO of a packaging company is taken aback by the commanding manner of one of her interns, who exploits her fascination by provoking a manipulative sexual relationship with her.
Review:
Turning on its head the traditional gender roles (cf. Disclosure 1994) and incorporating the new power accorded victims of coercion since the 'Me too' movement, this very European sex melodrama hits some of the expected beats while omitting others. Its subtext seems to be that power bosses are closet masochists, effectively putting our abused heroine back in her gender box, before exposing it as a mere chrysalis when she finally regains confidence and puts her destructive fantasies back in the bedroom. Banderas is given the unenviable task of keeping up with all this, and acquits himself very well, but the analysis of workplace gender politics ultimately goes only skin deep (and Kidman bravely exposes herself on that count, at least), revealing a tired old infidelity narrative with voguish tucks and trimmings.