By Victoria Alexander
Do not miss the clever twist. Kidman never abandons herself. We never see her mad hunger for the young intern. The only kinky thing is Kidman drinking milk fully dressed on all fours.
It is called “Chekhov’s Gun.” It is a narrative principle that filmmaking has adapted from the great playwright that states if a gun (or weapon) is seen in the first act, it should be used by the third act.
“One must not put a loaded rifle on the stage if no one is thinking of firing it.“ - Anton Chekhov
BABYGIRL’S Romy presents Nicole Kidman’s idealized public self. Either the writer-director, Halina Reijn, wrote the part specifically for Kidman or it was adjusted to her specifications for agreeing to play the part.
Romy has everything: At 57-years-old, she is gorgeous. Her clothes are superb. Jacob, (Antonio Banderas) her theater-director husband, adores her. They live in a fabulous Manhattan apartment and have two teenage girls. Romy’s presentation announces her wealth, privilege with a perfect face and an enviable, sleek body. Romy is CEO of a tech company replacing employees with robotics.
Romy is so exceptional that, even being a CEO of a successful company, she makes her girls lunch and includes handwritten notes! She doesn’t ignore Jacob and we see them having robust morning sex.
What is Romy missing? Do not be envious of Romy’s life. She is unhappy. Jacob cannot satisfy her. She has to rely on Internet porn. Her ramrod statuesque height, her understated designer clothes and unmovable face, presents an image of control in all areas of her life, but is it a sham?
Does the highly successful female CEO really want to be bossed around and to surrender herself to an impulsive young man?
Walking to her office one morning, Romy stops when an unleashed black dog appears to attack a man. Romy is startled and frozen in place when a young man appears and moves towards the dog. He makes a command that stops the attack. The dog obediently cowers to the stranger and then, apparently, returns to his owner.
The dog is Chekhov’s gun.
Wouldn’t you know it, the tall, handsome young man is one of Romy’s company’s interns. The new intern, Samuel (Harris Dickinson), tells Romy he has chosen her as his mentor. Samuel has no tell-tale signs of showcasing a strong, dominant personality. It is Reijn’s failure to give Samuel a knowingly sexy smile, a walk that commands attention, or a subtext that suggests he is sexually dangerous. Samuel has nothing but youth as his calling card. Dickinson is an attractive young actor, but Reijn does not allow him to take attention away from Kidman. Reijn never gives Dickinson the scene where the female audience says, “Yeah, he’s definitely hot.” I’ve asked a few of my female friends, Samuel does not show he can judge a woman’s sexual needs upon an initial encounter. Samuel is rather colorless, and this is Reijn’s fault.
Think about the breakout moment orchestrated by the directors who made Paul Newman, Marlon Brando, Steve McQueen, John Travolta, Robert Redford, Richard Gere and the reigning Brad Pitt, instant sex symbols. They were intentionally staged to promote masculine desire.
The above-named movie stars had directors who fell in love with them and it showed.
If Romy was playing her perfect CEO part, she would have laughed Samuel out of her office the first time he turned up. After silly office talk, Romy throws off her carefully constructed image and sees something in Samuel that we cannot see.
How did Samuel know his boss is a latent sexual submissive and needs to be told what to do? What subtle signs did he show to excite Romy to throw everything out of window by having an affair with a 28-year-old intern? He orders Romy a glass of milk at the office Christmas party. That excites her. What was Samuel’s job and was he a paid intern?
As BABYGIRL progresses, Romy begins an affair with Samuel, knowing full well it is threatening her marriage and her job.
Their sexual master-submissive play is rather laughable. There is no raunchy sex or rules Romy must follow.
Office romances are usually found out. Samuel is also having sex with Esme (Sophie Wilde), Romy’s executive assistant. Sophie is unhappy she has not been given a promotion. Now Esme has something on Romy.
Yes, BABYGIRL lives up to it’s publicity hype for sex scenes. Kidman has no problem with nudity and the sexual play between the two is surprising for a star of Kidman’s stature. But Romy never abandons herself.
We do not see Romy’s unreasonable passion that could destroy everything she has.
Romy obeys Samuel, on all fours, and licks milk from a saucer on the floor. Was he domineering in bed?
Did he demand things Romy secretly enjoyed watching on porn sites?
Well, it all hits the fan for Romy. The rumors of the affair reaches the staff and an executive suggests he knows. It is time to fess up.
Jacob, knowing he has been cuckolded, easily forgives Romy, Sophie gets a big promotion and Samuel gets shipped off to Japan. Everything goes back to normal.
So what about Chekhov’s gun? What does the last frame of BABYGIRL mean? It shows Samuel in a bedroom with a black dog by his side. There is no way we can tell Samuel is in Japan. It suggests to me a clever twist: the affair continues in Manhattan.
The ALL is Mind; The Universe is Mental.” Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer Critic. For a complete list of Victoria Alexander's movie reviews on Rotten Tomatoes go to:
Contributing to: FilmsInReview: http://www.filmsinreview.com
Member of Las Vegas Film Critics Society
Personal email: victoria.alexander.lv@gmail.com
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