BABYGIRL (2024)

The premise is obvious from the movie poster: an older woman has an affair with a much, much younger man. We’ve seen this before. In fact we’ve seen this from Nicole Kidman within the same year with A Family Affair (2024), and from Anne Hathaway in The Idea of You (2024); both passable, yet forgettable romcoms. Whereas these latter films feature women getting their grooves back and remind me of the sort of film that eventually made its way to primetime network television, Babygirl (2024) is exactly the sort of film Gen Xers used to happen upon after the parents went to bed or came home to relieve you of your babysitting service. A time that was referred to as late night TV. Salacious B-movies like The Blue Lagoon (1980) and Two Moon Junction (1988) would feature, with plots as the backdrop for coming-of-age titillation. But instead of teenagers stumbling into erotica, Babygirl is the grown up version of my dreams. Everyone involved is to be commended for the realism and complexity of the film’s exchanges, where not everyone gets their due, nor are all darker truths fully revealed or even remotely resolved. But it’s Kidman who fascinates us throughout, as we journey with her through a new, later life sexual rite of passage. You might not be ready, and you’ll happy your parents aren’t home or in the room.

WATCH OR NOT: WATCH

Additional musings: Kidman’s now somewhat lesser expressive face is an asset here. As with The Substance (2024), she looks the part of a modern, older woman with money; and Kidman is such a talent, even with a mask of Botox, we see right through her.