I love the title.
So, I was like, Oh!
Id like to be aBabygirl!'
Harris Dickinson and Nicole Kidman in a scene from ‘Babygirl.’A24
This week, she won the National Board of Reviews NBR Award for Best Actress.
Romy has everything, or so it seems.
But the woman who has everything doesnt know how to be her true self.
Director Halina Reijn and Nicole Kidman on the set ofBabygirl. (A24)
She keeps pushing the boundaries for this progressive exploration of sexual satisfaction.
They soon become the object of each others desire and they hold very little back.
Both Banderas and Dickinson support the trajectory of the woman and thats as rare as hens teeth.
But theyre really great roles too.
I think the film wouldnt be the film it is without those two men.
Having Antonio as my husband, and hes so appealing, Kidman says with a laugh.
Thats why its not true in terms of, Okay, now this terrible husband.
Hes a lovely husband, a delicious husband, she says, exhaling.
Maybe its all a fantasy.
Which I thought was interesting.
And its certainly up for interpretation, she teases.
Movies likeFatal Attraction,Basic Instinct,Body Heat,Body Double,Crimes of Passionand so on.
Wheres the story that follows the other thing?
Halinas obsessed with those films, says Kidman.
Its those stories but told through a female gaze.
And thats what she was determined to do.
Whether anyone wouldve given her the money was what she was worried about.
And then A24, glorious A24 got involved.
Kidmans own relationship with Reijn began several years ago after she saw the directors 2019 filmInstinct.
I knew I had to work with such an emerging talent.
And I was like, Huh,Babygirl!
And then she sent it to me.
I was like, Oh my God, this is so up my alley!'
You just dont get roles like this, she says with a sigh.
This is now my life.'
You dont follow anybody elses, which is unusual, she notes.
I think the film is not tortuous, which is what so many are.
Theres no destroying of the woman.
Theres no punishing of the woman.
Its her exploration and its her journey.
Yes, shes very much in control.
I love her, Kidman adds.
Because shes also making a mark for herself now as a director and a writer.
And she gave me a role that Ive never had in my life.
And it was just beautiful being intertwined with her and creating the story and the performance.
Her reverence speaks to Kidmans desire to work with and encourage female directors and writers.
Its not idle chat either.
In recent years, that scope has been expanded to something like two to three times per year.
And Vicky Jenson directed the recently releasedSpellbound.
Meanwhile, Andrea Arnold shot seven of the 14 episodes for the new season ofBig Little Lies.
Michelle Pfeiffer plays her mother, a Hooters waitress.
So once again, its like putting women at the front and center, says Kidman, beaming.
Kidmans producing; Elle and Dakota Fanning are among the shows executive producers.
I love working with Sandy.
She also loves witches.
She has a thing about witches.
Honestly, I was enraptured byWicked.
I loved it, she trills.
In any event, Kidman knew nothing of Daldrys idea when I broach it.
Nobody could have played those roles other than Cynthia and Ariana, she believes, and I agree.
What is it about her and sorceresses?
Theyre magical creatures, right?
And theyre not necessarily always bad, asWickedhas proved.
Absolutely not all bad.
Naughty sometimes, but not bad, she allows.
