Director Halina Reijn has defended Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson’s age gap in the erotic thriller, Babygirl.
The Moulin Rouge actress, 57, and The Iron Claw actor, 28, took on the leading roles in the A24 film – which officially released in theaters on Christmas Day.
The premise of the project follows a ‘high-powered CEO puts her career and family on the line when she begins a torrid affair with her much-younger intern,’ per IMDB.
During a recent interview with W Magazine, Reijn discussed the casting of her latest movie, which has notably garnered praise from both critics and audiences.
When the topic of age gaps in newer films such as Amazon Prime Video’s The Idea Of You was brought up, Halina stated, ‘If we see a movie where the male actor is the same age as the female actor, we find that odd.’
‘Which is insane. It should completely be normalized that the age gaps switch and that women have different relationships.’
Director Halina Reijn has defended Nicole Kidman, 57, and Harris Dickinson’s, 28, age gap in the erotic thriller, Babygirl; Kidman and Reijn seen earlier this month in Beverly Hills
During a recent interview with W Magazine, Reijn discussed the casting of her latest movie, which has notably garnered praise from both critics and audiences
Reijn continued, ‘We’re not trapped in a box anymore. We internalize the male gaze, we internalize patriarchy, and we need to free ourselves from it. It’s really hard.’
She further reflected on how she ended up casting both Kidman and Dickinson in Babygirl.
The filmmaker revealed that the actress had reached out to her after seeing her movie Instinct (2019).
Halina explained Nicole eventually ‘read a very early draft of Babygirl and immediately said, “I want to play that character.” She also said she wanted to surrender to it and not change a thing.’
‘That was important to me, because I knew I wrote something controversial and, at least for me, surrounded by shame. I needed someone to be as courageous as the script tries to be.’
She admitted that once Kidman ‘was on board, I woke up totally panicked. We had one of the best actors in the world.’
‘It’s impossible to find a young man who’s not only as good as her, but can dominate her. But then I saw Harris in Triangle Of Sadness. He’s so vulnerable, yet so masculine and macho. He’s kind of an ideal man, because he has all of these layers.’
Back in August, Babygirl first premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival – and Kidman won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress.
Halina stated, ‘Which is insane. It should completely be normalized that the age gaps switch and that women have different relationships’; seen above on set of Babygirl
Reijn continued, ‘We’re not trapped in a box anymore. We internalize the male gaze, we internalize patriarchy, and we need to free ourselves from it. It’s really hard’; director seen earlier this month in NYC
And in September, the movie was shown during the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that Nicole garnered a Golden Globe nomination for her role as Romy in the raunchy thriller.
During an interview with Women’s Day this month, Nicole got candid about filming sex scenes with her co-star, Harris Dickinson.
While an intimacy coordinator choreographed the intimate scenes, the actress shared ‘there was still a flow to it, which allowed space to move and change and work. It wasn’t confined, and I love to work that way.’
After taking on the leading role in Babygirl, she recently told The Hollywood Reporter that she likes being seen as a ‘sexual being’ at her age of 57.
‘A lot of times women are discarded at a certain period of their career as a sexual being. So it was really beautiful to be seen in this way,’ she stated.
‘A lot of times women are discarded at a certain period of their career as a sexual being. So it was really beautiful to be seen in this way,’ she stated.
‘From the minute I read it, I was like, “Yeah, this is a voice I haven’t seen, this is a place that I haven’t been, I don’t think audiences have been.”‘
While an intimacy coordinator choreographed the intimate scenes, the actress shared ‘there was still a flow to it, which allowed space to move and change and work’
She said her character ‘has reached a stage where she’s got all this power, but she’s not sure who she is, what she wants, what she desires, even though she seems to have it all.’
‘And I think that’s really relatable. There are many women who are going, “Well, I’ve done this, I’ve got children, I’ve got this husband, and what do I actually want? Who am I and what are my desires?”‘
‘”Do I have to pretend to be something else for people to love me?” I think it’s very releasing, this film,’ Nicole added. ‘I hope it is. I’ve had some people say it’s the most disturbing film they’ve ever seen, which I’m like, “Oh no, I’m so sorry.”‘
The ‘sexuality’ of the role was what had interested Kidman, adding that it felt ‘raw and dangerous’ and ‘wasn’t written for a 20 or even 30-year-old.’
And back in October, the actress revealed that she had to pause filming the erotic drama Babygirl as she didn’t want to ‘orgasm’ anymore.
She told The Sun, ‘There was an enormous amount of sharing and trust and then frustration. It’s like, “Don’t touch me.”‘
After taking on the leading role in Babygirl, she recently told The Hollywood Reporter that she likes being seen as a ‘sexual being’ at her age of 57; seen in November in Hollywood
And back in October, the actress revealed that she had to pause filming the erotic drama Babygirl as she didn’t want to ‘orgasm’ anymore
‘There were times when we were shooting where I was like, “I don’t want to orgasm any more.”‘
Nicole continued, ‘Don’t come near me. I hate doing this. I don’t care if I am never touched again in my life! I’m over it. It was so present all the time for me that it was almost like a burnout.’
The cast for Babygirl also includes Antonio Banderas, Esther Rose McGregor, Sophie Wilde and Izabel Mar.
Not long after its official release in theaters, the movie has already garnered positive reviews – and currently holds a score of 77% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Not long after its official release in theaters, the movie has already garnered positive reviews – and currently holds a score of 77% on Rotten Tomatoes; Kidman and Dickinson seen earlier this month in L.A.
Sheila O’Malley for Rogerebert.com applauded Nicole’s performance and stated, ‘Kidman plays Romy at a fever pitch, and she is very effective.’
‘Babygirl is a high-wire act. It’s a small miracle the film works as well as it does,’ she added.
Dana Stevens for Slate said, ‘What keeps Babygirl from feeling preachy or self-serious is its sense of humor and playfulness when it comes to sex.’
And on social media, a fan wrote, ‘It’s such a good movie for real,’ while another penned, ‘Love the movie! Can’t wait for part two!’
