Halina Reijn’s “Babygirl” is more than Harris Dickinson shirtless, more than Nicole Kidman having orgasms, and more than a guilty pleasure. “Babygirl” is a bold display of female fantasy through its eroticism and vulnerability. By Reijn’s intentional use of cinematic elements to display desire, she not only redefines the boundaries of what women directors can create but also paves the way for a more authentic representation of women’s complexities in the male-dominated film industry.

“Babygirl” follows CEO Romy (Nicole Kidman) as she hides her masochistic desires from her husband. This suppression leads her to a sexual relationship with a new intern, Samuel (Harris Dickinson). The movie has vulnerable and tense sex scenes between the two that display the uglier and funnier aspects of sex which aren’t seen in film as much.

At first, I thought this film was surface-level and lazily directed. I was left wanting the sex scenes to show perfect interactions between Romy and Samuel, with music playing softly in the background and the lighting dim as they both say the right thing. 

The second time I watched it, I realized these aspects weren’t as lazily attempted as I previously thought. Instead, I saw there was intention to keep that “perfect” sex scene away from the characters. Even with this realization, I was unable to pinpoint how the elements of the film were working, so I talked to the WashU’s Director of Film and Media Studies, Dr. Colin Burnett, to see if he could help provide a more thorough analysis of “Babygirl.”

“I actually do think that this movie is, in a number of ways, pretty sophisticated visually … [and also] in terms of sound, but just to focus on the visuals. So the creativity there might have been in instructing the cinematographer to pare that down, that maybe the directing was as follows: We’re not going to use lighting as the main source of expression here. We’re not going to use elaborate staging as the main source of expression here [We’ll use] the movement of bodies in space,” Burnett said.

When we’re watching the movie, Reijn doesn’t want us distracted by the spectacle elements of the film, like lighting and camera movement, but rather by what is happening between the characters and how their emotions build off of each other.

The film’s sophisticated visuals support Reijn’s complex narrative, which she openly connects to her own life. 

In her interview with Academy Conversations, she says “there’s a lot of discussion, of course, about this movie because you see this incredibly powerful woman … and suddenly you see her crawling around and eating candy out of someone’s hand, so understandably it can be confusing for people, but I think life is confusing.” Although this film can seem foreign to a lot of people, it is still Romy’s and somebody else’s reality, and it would have maintained a fantasy if Reijn didn’t step up to put a woman’s desire into the film.

I write this trying to respect the film for the art that it is. Despite the fact that it isn’t nominated for an Oscar, “Babygirl” still makes a profound mark on the film industry. It’s impacted Reijn’s career and the careers of future female directors. This film shows other female directors that they are allowed to put their fantasy into film, no matter what it is, and it can still be understood as art.