Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson in “Babygirl.”
Babygirl—an erotic thriller starring Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson—is new in theaters. How are critics responding to it?
Babygirl opened in theaters nationwide on Christmas Day. The official logline for Babygirl reads, “A high-powered CEO puts her career and family on the line when she begins a torrid affair with her much younger intern.”
Written and directed by Halina Reijn, Babygirl stars Kidman (The Perfect Couple) as the CEO, Romy, while Dickinson (The King’s Man) plays her intern, Samuel. Antonio Banderas also stars in Babygirl as Romy’s husband, Jacob, and Sophie Wilde as Romy’s assistant Esme.
Rotten Tomatoes critics to date have collectively given Babygirl a 77% “fresh” rating based on 132 reviews.
The RT Critics Consensus for the film reads, “Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson memorably smolder together in Babygirl, with writer-director Halina Reijn’s clinical gaze keeping this sexually frank thriller more provocative than prurient.”
Audiences, however, have given Babygirl a 55% “rotten” rating on RT’s Popcornmeter based on 100-plus verified user ratings.
How Did Individual Critics Respond To ‘Babygirl’?
David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter is among the top critics on Rotten Tomatoes to give Babygirl a “fresh” review, writing, “What makes it entertaining is not just the actors’ skilled navigation of every tricky challenge but also the script’s refusal of judgment and rigid moral codes.”
Tim Grierson also gives Babygirl a “fresh” review on RT, although he does have some reservations. In his review for Screen International, Grierson writes, “Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson are excellent as these carnal combatants, each of their characters jockeying for control. But the writer-director’s larger ideas fail to burn as hot as the two leads’ fiery chemistry.”
Ryan Lattanzio of IndieWire also praises Babygirl’s two leads, writing, “Without Kidman in a fearless turn and Dickinson there to pivot her to the edge, Babygirl wouldn’t work as smashingly as it does. This is a sexy, darkly funny, and bold piece of work. Don’t sleep on it.”
Ben Croll of The Wrap wasn’t as big a fan of the film, writing in his review on RT, “Like a sheep in wolf’s clothing, Halina Reijn’s surprisingly genteel Babygirl might bare the occasional fang, but it doesn’t have much bite.”
Thelma Adams of AARP Movies for Grownups also gave Babygirl a “rotten” review on RT, writing, “It’s the kind of movie where you can’t help but giggle your way through the many sex scenes, and pity poor [Antonio] Banderas, who has more untapped sex appeal than the other two combined.”
In addition, Xan Brooks of The Guardian gave Babygirl a “rotten” review on RT, writing, “For all its excited carnality and seesawing power struggles, the film’s thrills feel machine-tooled and vacuum-packed.”
Rated R, Babygirl is playing in theaters nationwide.
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