<p><img src="/gcdn/authoring/authoring-images/2024/12/20/USAT/77112709007-bg-06590-r-4-v-1.jpg?crop=5993,3369,x9,y292&width=660&height=371&format=pjpg&auto=webp" width="100%" /><p>Watching “<a href="/story/entertainment/celebrities/2024/09/08/nicole-kidman-mom-death-venice-film-festival/75131830007/">Babygirl</a>” won’t land you on the naughty list.</p><p>The R-rated thriller (now in theaters) is a tantalizing ode to female desire and liberation, following a married CEO named Romy (<a href="/story/entertainment/celebrities/2024/11/20/nicole-kidman-mortality-parents-death/76447594007/">Nicole Kidman</a>) as she unleashes her sexual fantasies with a presumptuous yet passionate intern named Samuel (<a href="/story/entertainment/movies/2024/12/24/harris-dickinson-babygirl-interview/77025490007/">Harris Dickinson</a>). The film is an unintended companion piece to Stanley Kubrick’s 1999 cult classic “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgVo96JaqeM">Eyes Wide Shut</a>,” another titillating drama starring Kidman also set in New York at Christmastime.</p><p>“Babygirl” writer/director Halina Reijn (“<a href="/story/entertainment/movies/2022/08/05/bodies-bodies-bodies-most-gen-z-movie-ever/10218274002/">Bodies Bodies Bodies</a>”) walks us through the movie’s erotic kink scenes and the unique way she captured masturbation on screen.</p><img width="100%" /><p><strong>Question: Romy has a heartbreaking monologue about self-sabotage, being a good person and wanting to feel "normal" in spite of her sexual desires. What inspired that speech?</strong></p><p>Halina Reijn: I love that you started talking about that scene. Everybody talks about orgasms, which is also an amazing subject, but that scene is the core of the movie. The idea of, “I want to be what you like,” is something everybody can relate to, because we all feel like aliens at times and want to do what is expected of us. For instance, I don't have children; I don't have a partner. There are so many of us who look different, or have different sexual or gender identities, and we feel left out because we’re not walking the “right” path. That’s a very scary feeling.</p><p><strong>Need a break?</strong> <a href="https://puzzles.usatoday.com/">Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.</a></p><p><strong>'Babygirl':</strong><a href="/story/entertainment/movies/2024/12/24/harris-dickinson-babygirl-interview/77025490007/">Harris Dickinson had Marine ambitions. Now he's in 2024's kinkiest film.</a></p><img width="100%" /><p><strong>There is so much tenderness to the kink scenes: Samuel is attentive and focused on Romy's pleasure, and comforts her when she cries on his shoulder after sex. What did you hope to convey in those intimate moments?</strong></p><p>The movie is very much about masculinity: What does it mean in the age of consent, and what am I allowed to do? We see these two people go into this space where it’s almost therapeutic, even though the affair is morally wrong. They are hurting other people, but they are also healing. Life is full of duality, and I wanted to show that in all my characters. Of course, Samuel is being aggressive with Romy, but he’s also incredibly sensitive and scared and nervous, and that’s how we feel when we are trying new things with a bed partner. You can feel reborn when you find a new person.</p><img width="100%" /><p><strong>There is very little nudity in the movie and most of the sex scenes are shot in tight closeup on Nicole's face. Why was that important to you?</strong></p><p>Two bodies banging against each other is great in real life, but in movies, sexuality is very much a suggestion. I find the most sexual moment in the film is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8dh2tBfT3g">the milk scene</a>, where she drinks the full glass of milk and he says “good girl” and they are not even touching. So I'm trying to find sexuality in my movie in different ways, where they are giving each other assignments or seeing how far Romy can take the real-life stakes ― of losing her family or being canceled ― as the kink. That is far more provocative and taboo than any of the real intimacy scenes.</p><p>But in terms of how I shoot, I’m trying to think about, “What does the female gaze look like? What does it mean when it's not the standard prototype of a straight white male?" For instance, how do I shoot a masturbation scene? In the erotic thrillers of the 1990s, women were often shot in a way that men could see the full body: the breasts and vagina. I like to shoot in a way where the woman is on her belly; she’s afraid and trying to hide from herself that she’s doing it. Everybody who has ever masturbated before can relate to the fact that you're putting it away before you even had the orgasm. So I always want to show the shame surrounding sex: "I want to do this, but I don't think I'm allowed."</p><a href="/picture-gallery/entertainment/celebrities/2024/12/04/hollywood-reporter-women-in-entertainment-gala-photos/76774235007/"><img width="100%" /></a><p><strong>This movie feels like a bookend to "Eyes Wide Shut," only this time, it's Nicole stepping through the looking glass and exploring her sexual fantasies. Were you consciously thinking of that film as you wrote "Babygirl?"</strong></p><p>I started to realize that when we cast Nicole. In “Eyes Wide Shut,” she only tells the story of a fantasy, but we never get to go with her to actually live it. Then the rest of the movie is Tom Cruise's reaction to that story. She didn't even (have an affair), and yet her husband goes off on this whole journey! It’s an amazing movie, but ironically enough, "Babygirl" is kind of the female answer (to it). What happens when a woman starts to explore her sexuality and has to learn, for better or worse, what it takes for her to be able to ask for what she needs? Communication between humans is key. If you want a sex life that survives time, you’ve got to be able to ask for what you want.</p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_9hfHvQSNo"><img width="100%" /></a><p><strong>There's an amazing needle drop of Harris dancing shirtless to George Michael's "Father Figure." Why that song?</strong></p><p>“Father Figure” is my anthem for life, and I had that (idea) before I even started writing. I knew I wanted Samuel to feel very fatherly, and that is such a hard thing to ask from a young guy, especially when you have Nicole Kidman ― one of the biggest stars on the planet ― in front of you. How are you going to be a daddy to someone who is an icon and a goddess? But Harris is so fatherly, and that really surprised me. They are both the daddy, because Nicole is just as much the daddy in this sexual dynamic. Both can be dominant and masochistic, and that is what you need in a film like this.</p></p>
Watching “Babygirl” won’t land you on the naughty list.
The R-rated thriller (now in theaters) is a tantalizing ode to female desire and liberation, following a married CEO named Romy (Nicole Kidman) as she unleashes her sexual fantasies with a presumptuous yet passionate intern named Samuel (Harris Dickinson). The film is an unintended companion piece to Stanley Kubrick’s 1999 cult classic “Eyes Wide Shut,” another titillating drama starring Kidman also set in New York at Christmastime.
“Babygirl” writer/director Halina Reijn (“Bodies Bodies Bodies”) walks us through the movie’s erotic kink scenes and the unique way she captured masturbation on screen.
![]()
Question: Romy has a heartbreaking monologue about self-sabotage, being a good person and wanting to feel "normal" in spite of her sexual desires. What inspired that speech?
Halina Reijn: I love that you started talking about that scene. Everybody talks about orgasms, which is also an amazing subject, but that scene is the core of the movie. The idea of, “I want to be what you like,” is something everybody can relate to, because we all feel like aliens at times and want to do what is expected of us. For instance, I don't have children; I don't have a partner. There are so many of us who look different, or have different sexual or gender identities, and we feel left out because we’re not walking the “right” path. That’s a very scary feeling.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
'Babygirl':Harris Dickinson had Marine ambitions. Now he's in 2024's kinkiest film.
![]()
There is so much tenderness to the kink scenes: Samuel is attentive and focused on Romy's pleasure, and comforts her when she cries on his shoulder after sex. What did you hope to convey in those intimate moments?
The movie is very much about masculinity: What does it mean in the age of consent, and what am I allowed to do? We see these two people go into this space where it’s almost therapeutic, even though the affair is morally wrong. They are hurting other people, but they are also healing. Life is full of duality, and I wanted to show that in all my characters. Of course, Samuel is being aggressive with Romy, but he’s also incredibly sensitive and scared and nervous, and that’s how we feel when we are trying new things with a bed partner. You can feel reborn when you find a new person.
![]()
There is very little nudity in the movie and most of the sex scenes are shot in tight closeup on Nicole's face. Why was that important to you?
Two bodies banging against each other is great in real life, but in movies, sexuality is very much a suggestion. I find the most sexual moment in the film is the milk scene, where she drinks the full glass of milk and he says “good girl” and they are not even touching. So I'm trying to find sexuality in my movie in different ways, where they are giving each other assignments or seeing how far Romy can take the real-life stakes ― of losing her family or being canceled ― as the kink. That is far more provocative and taboo than any of the real intimacy scenes.
But in terms of how I shoot, I’m trying to think about, “What does the female gaze look like? What does it mean when it's not the standard prototype of a straight white male?" For instance, how do I shoot a masturbation scene? In the erotic thrillers of the 1990s, women were often shot in a way that men could see the full body: the breasts and vagina. I like to shoot in a way where the woman is on her belly; she’s afraid and trying to hide from herself that she’s doing it. Everybody who has ever masturbated before can relate to the fact that you're putting it away before you even had the orgasm. So I always want to show the shame surrounding sex: "I want to do this, but I don't think I'm allowed."
![]()
This movie feels like a bookend to "Eyes Wide Shut," only this time, it's Nicole stepping through the looking glass and exploring her sexual fantasies. Were you consciously thinking of that film as you wrote "Babygirl?"
I started to realize that when we cast Nicole. In “Eyes Wide Shut,” she only tells the story of a fantasy, but we never get to go with her to actually live it. Then the rest of the movie is Tom Cruise's reaction to that story. She didn't even (have an affair), and yet her husband goes off on this whole journey! It’s an amazing movie, but ironically enough, "Babygirl" is kind of the female answer (to it). What happens when a woman starts to explore her sexuality and has to learn, for better or worse, what it takes for her to be able to ask for what she needs? Communication between humans is key. If you want a sex life that survives time, you’ve got to be able to ask for what you want.
![]()
There's an amazing needle drop of Harris dancing shirtless to George Michael's "Father Figure." Why that song?
“Father Figure” is my anthem for life, and I had that (idea) before I even started writing. I knew I wanted Samuel to feel very fatherly, and that is such a hard thing to ask from a young guy, especially when you have Nicole Kidman ― one of the biggest stars on the planet ― in front of you. How are you going to be a daddy to someone who is an icon and a goddess? But Harris is so fatherly, and that really surprised me. They are both the daddy, because Nicole is just as much the daddy in this sexual dynamic. Both can be dominant and masochistic, and that is what you need in a film like this.
