One of the films I’m most eager to see at TIFF is Halina Reijn’s Babygirl, starring Nicole Kidman. First and foremost, it’s Nicole Kidman, I’m always down for whatever Nicole is doing. But also… it’s Nicole Kidman in an erotic thriller, a story about sexual politics, power dynamics, and also desire, specifically a woman’s desire, and even more specifically the desires of a woman of a certain age. I’m the horndog over here ready to get horny AF over Nicole Kidman doing movie sex with a hot younger actor. Especially since there’s an increasing lack of sex in movies these days.
Babygirl world premiered in Venice this weekend and, not surprisingly, people are raving over Nicole’s performance. “Fearless”, “daring”, “bold” – just a few of the adjectives I’ve seen from reviews and other reaction. But would we expect anything less? If Nicole Kidman is going to commit to playing a CEO entangled in an affair with a young employee, it’s never going to be half measure. So, yes, as we’ve been talking about all day, as one of the Queens of Venice, of course there’s Oscar talk.
My question going into it though is whether or not Academy voters will actually go for the nudity and the sex. Yes, Emma Stone just won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Poor Things and there was a lot of sex and nudity in that film. But also, Emma Stone is over 20 years younger than Nicole Kidman. She was basically a “girl” in that movie and, not to make it gross, it’s not like I want to, but it’s a totally different story where so many Academy voters are concerned when it comes to women and age and what is and isn’t awardable. This, obviously, is bullsh-t, but that’s where we still are, and Deadline acknowledged as much in this article about Nicole’s chances.
“... Babygirl‘s nudity and intimacy prove too much? Many countries, including America, struggle more with on-screen sex than violence.”
Deadline also quoted a festival programmer who said that:
“I loved the film. It’s too risky a role to win the Oscar but she’s definitely ‘in the race'”.
The fact that taking a “risk” can be a barrier to an award in a creative field is bonkers. But these are the ways women’s creativity can be limited – at least by the gatekeepers. What makes me laugh, though, is that Babygirl is scheduled for a holiday release: on December 25 we can all go see Nicole Kidman on screen seducing and being seduced on screen. I f-cking love this decision, Happy Christmas!
That’s still a few months away. This week, though, we can see Nicole in yet another project. The Perfect Couple is a six-part limited series dropping on Netflix this week in which she co-stars with Liev Schreiber who is her best friend Naomi Watts’s ex. Liev and Naomi split a few years ago, they’ve moved on happily to other relationships, they remain amicable. But for regular degulars, it would still be wild, right? Imagine going to work and making out with your BFF’s ex?! Could you?
Nicole and Liev, along with the rest of the cast, were at the premiere in London yesterday. As Nicole does, she can elevate the f-ck out of a black dress, particularly since she’s now working with Jason Bolden. But of course the style moment to remember from the last week is the Schiaparelli she wore in Venice. This is legendary.
We're talking about this on The Squawk today. (App link here)
