Years ago, Gus Van Sant’s “To Die For” cast Nicole Kidman as a young woman, who craved fame and validation. It showed her character being desired for her conventionally admirable female attributes like gentility and innocence. While this satire criticized conventions with a tongue-in-cheek approach, “Babygirl” (2024) defies them with its clever script. It shows Kidman as a powerful CEO amid an affair with her young, male intern. The script explores desire from Kidman’s character’s perspective by examining her personal and professional lives.
Although it centers around their secretive sexual relationship, it isn’t merely about the act itself but what it means to her in the context of pleasure and authenticity. Dutch actress Halina Reijn has written and directed this film, which also stars Harris Dickinson, Antonio Banderas, and Sophie Wilde. Find the ending and themes explained here.
Spoilers Ahead
Babygirl (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
“Babygirl” is an erotic thriller that revolves around a female CEO, whose life turns upside down after she gets into a secretive relationship with her male intern. It puts her life and her career in jeopardy.
What happens in the Nicole Kidman-led ‘Babygirl’?
“Babygirl” follows Romy Mathis (Nicole Kidman), a high-powered CEO, who is married to Jacob (Antonio Banderas), a theater director. The film begins with them in a sexual encounter. Right after, she walks out, enters a dark room, and pleasures herself looking at a pornographic video on her laptop. She shuts her mouth to ensure it remains a secret. Soon, she returns to her job at an automation company that prides itself on its innovations. On her way to work, a dog almost attacks her but a young man quickly calms it down. That man happens to be one of her new interns, Samuel (Harris Dickinson).
During their introductory meeting, Samuel fearlessly confronts her about her push for automation. He often disregards their workplace power dynamic. Eventually, he chooses her to be his mentor in a program. Romy wasn’t aware that she was a part of it. Regardless, it allows Samuel to have weekly mentorship sessions with her. During their first meeting, she tries to assert her authority. He coyly asks her about her career and her relationship with power. Things escalate to the point they share a kiss before she leaves the room. Around this time, she discovers or at least, silently acknowledges her sexual displeasure in her marriage.
Samuel offers her what Jacob doesn’t. So, they start flirting with the idea of a sexual relationship despite their professional one. One night, she abruptly leaves a party and enters a shabby motel room where Samuel invites her. They explore a dominance and submission dynamic that leads her to have an intense orgasm. So, she gets emotional since she feels conflicted about her joy. They continue meeting secretly and get intimate until one day when he shows up at her house, uninvited, to return her laptop.
What happens to Samuel and Romy’s relationship?
Samuel suddenly shows up at Romy’s house and bonds with her family without much effort. His presence suddenly puts things in perspective for her and she worries about the repercussions of their affair. She warns him to never repeat this behavior and notes how important her family is to her. After all, she doesn’t want their affair to jeopardize her marriage. It doesn’t bode well for Samuel, who abruptly requests a different mentor, which affects her professionally. While sexually and emotionally unsatisfied, she finally comes clean with Jacob.
As Jacob approaches her, Romy gets angry and pushes him away. She tells him that she has never had an orgasm with him. Later, she walks up to the bar where Samuel bartends but he forces her to leave immediately. Soon, she invites him for a meeting in the office. They seek each other’s consent to continue their relationship. Shortly after, they enter a hotel room and spend the time together. Then, he attends the birthday party for Romy’s daughter, with Romy’s assistant, Esme (Sophie Wilde). Romy confronts Samuel for being in any other relationship besides theirs. Esme presumably catches them in that heated moment.
Also Read: The 10 Best Nicole Kidman Movie Performances, Ranked
At the office, Romy warns Esme about her relationship with Samuel – implying it might show her in a poor light since she is in a superior position at the company. Shortly after, Romy joins Samuel in a dizzy pub. While initially uncomfortable among youth, she lets loose and dances with Samuel. Soon, he tells her how Esme means something different to him than what she does.
Babygirl (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
What happens to Romy’s personal and professional life in the wake of her affair?
Toward the end of “Babygirl,” Esme admits she knows about Romy and Samuel’s affair. She asks Romy to end the affair since it can affect her reputation. Esme respects Romy for her accomplishments and hopes other women can look up to her as a role model. So, she discusses her goal to make some structural changes in the company. She expects Romy to promote her in exchange for keeping her affair a secret. After Esme leaves, Romy explains her affair to Jacob but doesn’t mention the specifics. She says that she had a one-night stand with a stranger. He doesn’t care why she got herself in that situation and impulsively forces her to move out.
While in their country home, Jacob finds Romy and Samuel sharing a kiss. So, he gets into a fight with Samuel. After they calm down, Jacob ridicules Romy’s desires and calls her pleasure masochistic. Samuel finds it offensive and calls Jacob’s ideas dated. Soon, Samuel moves to Japan for another job. Esme becomes the junior leadership coordinator. She advocates for equal opportunities for women and holds sincerity, vulnerability, and radical self-honesty of utmost importance. As it happens, Romy remains in her country house until Isabel invites her back home. She helps Romy relieve herself from shame and embarrassment about her actions.
Romy meets Jacob at his theater and apologizes for not communicating what she truly sought from him. At the office, her male colleague teases her about her affair with Samuel. Instead of hiding her anger, she lets it out on him. She does not let him humiliate her. Then, the film’s final moments partially mirror its initial moments. They show Nicole in a sexual encounter with Jacob. This time, she has an orgasm as Jacob acts upon what she expects of him.
Babygirl (2024) Movie Themes Analysed:
Desire, Pleasure, and Authenticity
“Babygirl” ties in the themes of pleasure and ambition with Romy’s innate desire to be her authentic self. She comes from a generation where women could rarely express themselves freely, whether in domestic or public spaces. So, she doesn’t let Isabel wear what she wants and expects her to fit the norms. Romy secretly pleasures herself instead of being honest about her expectations with Jacob since it might hurt his feelings. Jacob can articulate the motivations for how his characters act or behave but fails to understand Romy’s. When she talks about her displeasure, he ignores her.
Samuel happens to be the person who allows her to explore a side of her that she seldom gets to express. It doesn’t come easy for someone who often had to pretend to be strong for her ambitions. Her young peers make her realize that ‘it’s positive to be vulnerable not a weakness.’ With Samuel’s help, Romy gets in touch with her authentic self. In the end, she loses the schtick of professional courtesy where women are expected to be apologetic and servile despite their achievements. She does not let her male colleague humiliate her anymore.
Power and Ambition
The script also highlights power and ambition since its characters represent different sides in different settings. Samuel, an intern, is visibly awkward but feigns confidence. The power dynamic between him and Romy keeps changing as they discover how their pleasure ties into their concept of affection. During a commercial for their automation company, Romy talks about emotional intelligence based on Jacob’s suggestion. However, he is not perceptible to her emotional needs.
They find a deeper emotional and romantic connection after she can be her true self. Romy communicates these qualities during her professional presentation but rarely exercises them. This dissonance further ties into her distress. While Romy is professionally successful, Esme appears on the other side of her ambition. Romy has been hardwired to ignore morality for ambition. Esme uses Romy’s position of power to influence more women to find positions at different levels in their organization – to not let them face what the past generations endured for the sake of their ambition.
