Under Halina Reijn's direction, Kidman gets into an Amour Fou with a young intern.
Thanks to Nicole Kidman, whoever found “Fifty Shades of Gray” to be far too gruesome will receive a color refreshment. Of course, the signs have changed significantly in this version – here the focus is no longer a young and almost naive inexperienced woman, but a successful business woman over 50, who, with a much younger intern, on an as dangerous and exciting game of dominance and submission Entry.

Scene from “Baby Girl”
Insanseful Kidman
The first scene already makes it clear from which desire this “baby girl” is actually fulfilled, where, after an unsatisfactory sex experience with her husband (Antonio Banderas), one is looking for relief through a dominance porn clip.
In this demanding role, Nicole Kidman distorts her inner only, and Harris Dickinson, whom one knows primarily from “Triangle of Sadness”, embodies the intern Samuel with a mixture of evil boy and understanding friend who may even be able to replace a visit to the psychotherapist . Banderas, on the other hand, plays husband Jacob as a straight person whose views of female sexuality appear quite out of date. How will he react if he finds out the truth about his wife?

Scene from “Baby Girl”
Amour Fou under dogs
The first meeting of the future lovers is masterfully solved: When Romy threatens to be attacked by a wild dog on the street in front of her office building, Samuel whistles back the foreign animal and makes it obey him. This already introduced the motifs of the exercise of power and dominance. Incidentally, later a short sequence flashes a desired fantasy of Romys, in which she was torn from the dog to the ground and the heavy animal is threatening over her.
As soon as this Amour Fou really takes up speed, the audience does not expect cheap voyeurism with extensive sex scenes; And as far as the fantasies of wishes lived, Romy's desire proves to be extremely tame – there are no captivation or whip in the game and it is not about adding pain. The woman, on the other hand, is becoming more and more needed from the need to risk everything, and challenges public exposure.

Scene from “Baby Girl”
Female perspective
Actress Halina Reijn made a name for herself in 2022 as the director of the Slasher satire “Bodies Bodies Bodies”, and a film title like her “Instinct-Dangerous Desire” from 2019 specifies the topic of her latest work. Under the male direction, the story might have developed very quickly into a pure psycho-thriller with bloody consequences. The clashes are limited to a short brawl that takes on almost touching-comic features when one opponent then accommodates the other with a panic attack. That is why it is not appropriate that the film is marketed as a thriller; At most, one can speak of an erotic drama.
When it comes to desire, it always becomes complicated, but actually this other perspective makes it a little too easy, because basically it looks as if the husband, captured in old -fashioned ideas did not want to hear his wife several times. Finally, a chauvinistic boss is offered a peppered answer, and thanks to Reijn everything is heading for a highlight that is satisfactory in every respect.
3 ½ of 5 lustful sigh