Nicole Kidman’s Babygirl Is a ‘What If’ Version of Stanley Kubrick’s $162M Drama

There’s no denying that all of us have fantasies of different sorts. Some are daydreaming about changing their lives but are too afraid to start actually doing something for it. Others just escape in a fantasy to run away from reality. And a few of us have these darker thoughts that are even scary to acknowledge.

The theme of sexual fantasy is an old one and has been explored in the movies many times, with varying degrees of success. And the recent film Babygirl with Nicole Kidman as the female lead has just reminded us of the subject again.

What Is Babygirl About?

Babygirl is an erotic thriller from writer-director Halina Reijn that premiered this December, and it dives deep into the world of sexual self-exploration. We meet Romy, a powerful CEO who ends up in a rather unusual affair with her much younger intern.

The thing is, he figures out her needs right away, after they share a few looks and a conversation. And while Romy is afraid to finally lose herself in what she asked for, she does it anyway. But there was a time, 26 years ago, when her character had similar needs but never fully embraced them.

Babygirl Resonates with Eyes Wide Shut in an Unexpected Way

We are talking about Stanley Kubrick's hit drama Eyes Wide Shut, in which Kidman co-starred with Tom Cruise. They played a married couple of Alice and Bill, and once again her character was the one who wanted to explore her sexuality. She told that to her husband and it messed up his head.

And while it was her fantasy at first, Kubrick sends us on a journey with Bill as he explores the dangers of a world where sex and murder go hand in hand. We see it all from the male perspective, but we never get a chance to see the first person who needed the desire to come true get a chance to explore it all for herself.

Babygirl finally gives its main character what she wants in order to help her realize her existential needs and let go of destructive thoughts.

“Her inner desires being discovered and unleashed are both her triumph and downfall and she plays it ever so convincingly. Obviously it subverts the usual power balance tropes in films but there's more to it than that. This is what Eyes Wide Shut could have been,” Redditor Relative-Carob-6816 said.

Babygirl and Eyes Wide Shut are available to watch on Prime Video and Apple TV.