Nicole Kidman calls erotic thriller ‘Babygirl’ ‘liberating’

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“Babygirl,” an erotic thriller about a female CEO who begins an affair with a younger, male intern, is about sex, certainly. But that’s just part of the story.

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It’s also about desire, secrets, marriage, truth, power and consent, star Nicole Kidman said Friday at the Venice Film Festival. And it’s bound to inspire conversations for months to come.

From filmmaker Halina Reijn, “Babygirl” is having its world premiere Friday evening on the Lido, where it’s playing in competition before A24 releases it in theaters in December.

Antonio Banderas plays the husband of Kidman’s character and Harris Dickinson is the intern. Both her personal life and career are jeopardized through the ripples of the affair.

“I hope it’s a very liberating story,” Kidman said. “It was told by a woman through her gaze … that’s what to me what made it so unique.”

Arriving at the festival by water taxi, Kidman posed for photographers on the dock in the blazing sun before making her way to a news conference. She wore a black Bottega Veneta midi dress with short sleeves and a deep V-neck.

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Kidman came to Venice 25 years ago with another risque film: Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut.” But even with a resume full of boundary-pushing, sexy and challenging work, she still has some anxiety about this one. During a news conference, she said she was nervous.

“I hope my hands aren’t shaking,” Kidman said.

She said that as an actor she’s always interested in examining human beings — especially women — on screen and exploring questions about what it means to be human and the “labyrinth of that.”

“This definitely leaves me exposed and frightened and vulnerable when it’s given to the world,” she said.

Reijn, who previously made the youthful, anarchic slasher “ Bodies Bodies Bodies,” was excited to explore the idea of female desire, but also about a woman in an existential crisis. With that in mind, she said it was important for the husband, who does not satisfy Kidman’s character, to be both handsome and masculine. This, she said, is why she wanted Banderas.

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“It’s a cautionary tale about what happens when you suppress your own desires,” Reijn said.

The director was inspired to make “Babygirl” out of a love for the erotic thrillers of the 1980s and 90s from the likes of Paul Verhoeven and Adrian Lyne, but unlike in some of those stories, she didn’t want to “punish” the woman.

“I don’t want any of my characters to be punished,” Reijn said. “I just want them to be.”

Kidman and Dickinson got to know one another prior to filming through rehearsals in New York, knowing that the shoot would be quick. They also utilized an intimacy coordinator to help guide them through the steamier scenes.

“Babygirl” also looks at generational differences when it comes to topics like sex and intimacy, juxtaposing Kidman and Banderas with Dickinson and actor Sophie Wilde.

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“It was four of us together on a journey and it was really, really intimate,” Kidman said. “Enormous care taken by all of us, we were all very gentle with each other and helped each other.”

Dickinson liked the specificity in which the story and script addressed the “confusion within a young man of now.”

“A confusion about how to conduct yourself and how to conduct yourself in sex,” Dickinson said. “Halina was always ready to dissect and challenge that and challenge the nuance of the behaviour. That opened up a whole new world of the film.”

“Babygirl” is competing for the festival’s top prizes alongside the likes of “Maria” and the yet-to-premiere “The Room Next Door,” “Queer” and “Joker: Folie a Deux.” Winners will be announced on Sept. 7.

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