Nicole Kidman‘s Babygirl has been the talk of Venice Film Festival, with the erotic drama earning a seven-minute ovation and plenty of praise for its fearless star. The film follows Kidman’s character, Romy, a high-powered CEO, who risks her family and career when she embarks on a steamy affair with the new intern, Samuel (Harris Dickinson). However, it’s the sex scenes in Babygirl that have people talking, with Kidman speaking at length about the “radically long” intimate scenes that left her feeling “ragged”.
There’s no doubt this film about female pleasure and desire will continue to be hotly talked-about right up to (and beyond) its release date of Christmas Day. (That’s for the US and Canada. An Australian release date is TBC.) Here, we analyse everything Nicole and other cast and crew have said about the Babygirl sex scenes.
Everything Nicole Kidman Has Said About Her Babygirl Sex Scenes
For your edification…
Babygirl and the Orgasm Gap
According to early reviews, the film kicks off with the sounds of Kidman moaning before you even see anything. The scene involves Romy having sex with her husband, played by Antonio Banderas, who climaxes, leaving Kidman’s character wanting. She then ducks off to another room and masturbates to porn. This illustrates the major theme of the film, which is essentially all about female desire and the ‘orgasm gap’ between men and women.
Babygirl director Halina Reijn called the problem “huuuuuge”, quipping at Venice Film Festival: “Take note, men.”
Those unfamiliar with the ‘orgasm gap’, it’s used to describe the unequal ratio of times women orgasm versus men. For example, a study of more than 50,000 people found that 95% of heterosexual men say they usually or always orgasm when intimate with a partner, only 65% of heterosexual women said the same. (Meanwhile, lesbian women have orgasm rates similar to men, proving it’s not biological but possibly cultural in heterosexual relationships.)
Related: 7 Things You Absolutely Should Know If You Have Sex With Women
The Longest Sex Scene In Nicole Kidman’s Career?
Nicole Kidman is no stranger to a raunchy or intimidating scene. From Eyes Wide Shut to Big Little Lies, Nicole has proved herself to be fearless when it comes to intimacy and vulnerability on screen. While there’s no officially count to say if they are indeed the “longest”, Vanity Fair described the sex scenes as “radically long” while The Daily Beast added that they are “tremendous” in length.
“The sex is steamy and kinky, but it’s also funny and clumsy,” Barry Levitt writes for The Daily Beast. ” It feels precisely what it might look like for two people exploring each other’s boundaries without that inauthentic Hollywood sheen. In a particularly lengthy sequence, Samuel and Romy meet in a hotel for the first time, and they explore their dynamic with a refreshing forthrightness that feels staggeringly forward, especially in an American film.”
Meanwhile, Reijn wanted to create sex scenes that felt realistic for a woman to achieve an orgasm—something that requires time. “In movies, you still so often see a woman have an orgasm oncreen that is anatomically not possible,” she told Vanity Fair.
‘An X-Ray Of Kink’
Director Reijn describes the Babygirl sexual dynamic as an “x-ray” of kink, per Vanity Fair. The film erotically explores the intersections of power, gender, age, dominance and submission.
“They try to play these different, fun roles with each other, but they can also be scary and embarrassing,” Reijn said. “We don’t show this glossy fantasy; it’s actually an attempt to show the human side of all of that. In my eyes, it’s way more hot because it’s not just a perfect end result—which is often how it goes in the bedroom.”
Meanwhile, Harris Dickinson flips between a dominant sexual figure. “How Harris plays the dom is so different from how someone of Gen X would have played the dom in my time,” Reijn said. “I wanted to create a male character that was experimenting and also confused by, Who am I supposed to be as a man right now? What is masculinity and how do I ask for consent, if at the same time, I’m being asked to be a dominator?”
Nicole Felt ‘Ragged’ Filming Babygirl Sex Scenes
“It left me ragged,” Nicole confessed to Vanity Fair. “At some point I was like, I don’t want to be touched. I don’t want to do this anymore, but at the same time I was compelled to do it. Halina would hold me and I would hold her, because it was just very confronting to me.”
“I felt very exposed as an actor, as a woman, as a human being,” she adds. “I had to go in and go out like, I need to put my protection back on. What have I just done? Where did I go? What did I do?” However, for those thinking Nicole was exploited, think again…
She Also Found It ‘Freeing’
Nicole has spoken at length about the what it was like working with a female director in Reijn, noting that the two spoke frequently and openly about the raw subject matter. Intimacy co-ordinators were also used on set.
Speaking with Variety, Nicole said Babygirl was “obviously” about sex but it’s also about “desire, it’s about your inner thoughts, it’s about secrets, it’s about marriage, it’s about truth, power, consent… This is one woman’s story, and I hope a very liberating story. It’s told by a woman through her gaze… and that’s to me what made it so unique was that suddenly I was going to be in the hands of a woman with this material and it was very deep to share those things and very freeing.”
She adds: “It was very dear to our shared instincts and very freeing. I knew [Halina] wasn’t going to exploit me. However anyone interprets that, I didn’t feel exploited. I felt very much a part of it. There was enormous caretaking by all of us; we were all very gentle with each other and helped each other. It felt very authentic, protected and, at the same time, real,” she said.
What Is The Babygirl Release Date In Australia?
With press like that, who isn’t dying to see Babygirl? Although the film has made its debut at Venice Film Festival, it won’t arrive in cinemas until the end of the year. An Australian release date is yet to be announced, it’s believed the film will hit cinemas in America and Canada on December 25, 2024.
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