Sex in the movie theater is back, baby. 2024 is shaping up to be a blockbuster year for movies, thanks to hot releases like Rose Glass’s neo-noir thriller. love lies bleed, Luca Guadagnino’s love triangle drama challenger, Sean Baker’s sex worker-centric comedy Anoraand last but not least Halina Reijn’s May-December drama baby girl.
Screenwriter and Director Institutional Institutional Institutional helmer rekin, baby girl Nicole Kidman earned a rapturous response at her Venice Film Festival premiere, where she was awarded the Volpi Cup for her riveting performance as the female lead. as she does in her bold works Open your eyes wide, Newsboyand lies big and smallKidman rejects her polished image as a Megawatt star (and AMC stalwart) to embrace a tumultuous journey filled with sex and danger.
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However baby girl What stands out among these sexy movies and series is that it retains the joy of intense sex in a deliberately problematic romance. At this point, even the dirtiest sequences have a touch of sweetness.
baby girl Gender swapping is a common occurrence from May to December.
Directed by Halena Rain and Nicole Kidman.
Credit: A24
At first glance, baby girlThe story’s premise sounds almost boringly familiar: A high-powered CEO’s family and job are threatened by a torrid affair with a lusty young intern.
Except Wren reversed these roles, the powerful executive wasn’t a growler like Michael Douglas. She is played by the crisp, calm Kidman. Instead of a curvaceous fairy walking into a new workplace wearing a comfortable pencil skirt, triangle of sadnessHarris Dickinson walked in wearing a suit jacket and looking bored. Just like that, the expectations of this erotic story were shattered.
Romy Mathis (Kidman) seems to have it all: a lavish home in the Hamptons, a luxury apartment in Manhattan, a handsome, doting husband (Antonio Banderas), two adorable teenagers Daughters Isabel (Esther McGregor) and Nora (Vaughn Reilly), and a high school student. However, deep inside Romy longs to be disrespected, belittled and begged for help. It’s a desire so dark that she can’t even share it with her long-term partner. So she gets an uncomfortable arousal when this beautiful yet aloof hunk talks to her as casually as a barista. He knows this.
Samuel (Harris) is a new take on the problematic Lolita trope: a young person (usually a girl, often a minor) who is portrayed as sexually precocious and self-aware well beyond their years . Early on, he sensed that what was missing in Romy’s life was a place where she could be submissive. Strong yet gentle, Samuel is ready to be her dominant, expecting her to kneel on the dirty hotel room floor or drink a tall glass of milk just because he says so. Romi’s desires are often associated with male supervisors, especially in BDSM circles. This May-December gender swap of a dom-sub relationship (as opposed to Steven Shainberg’s The Office BDSM rom-com) secretary), forming a thrilling transgressive narrative.
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There’s no denying that Romy and Samuel’s relationship is steamy, thanks to the intense chemistry between Kidman and Harris. However, this on-screen romance is likely to make viewers squirm due to power dynamics, age differences, inconsistent gender roles and kinky sexuality. Even before Romi suggested their safe word was “Jacob” (her husband’s first name), the relationship was seriously in turmoil. All of this is intended to convey a vibrant and liberating message that sex should be about painfully emotionally honest and playful discoveries.
baby girl Passionate about sexual experimentation and consent.
Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson in “Baby Girl.”
Credit: A24
BDSM has a poor image in the media, often because it is incorrectly portrayed as abuse or bullying. Wren and her actors embrace a kind of primary/secondary sexuality in which consent is not only necessary but exciting. In a husky voice, Samuel tells Romy to do certain things. She might blush or reject him, and he would press her to tell him why. It’s not about pressure, it’s about communication. Remarkably, this is the kind of conversation—awkward and exciting—that she can’t have with her lovely husband.
A far cry from the “zipless fuck” dreamed up by Erica Jong or idealized in ’90s erotic thrillers. baby girl These awkward conversations and fumbling foreplay moments are used not only to place their sexual fantasies into a more realistic context, but also because this is where the process can be seen freely. We view the cheap hotel room the two choose as a sexual sandbox, where both feel free as playmates. Power dynamics do exist, but happiness is a mutual goal that both parties seek. Maybe it’s because Kidman stars in it baby girl Viewers are urged to take it less seriously in the bedroom and be like Romy and Samuel.
Nicole Kidman’s passionate and vulnerable performance could make her an Oscar frontrunner.
Antonio Banderas and Nicole Kidman in “Baby Girl.”
Credit: A24
Some may be hesitant or critical of Kidman taking on such a sexual role. (She faced similar criticism Newsboy.) As Romy, Kidman is given a level of power that few women in the world have. So there’s something unsettling about watching her hand that power over to some pious guy in a tie. The stakes of the drama rise as the possibility of Romy losing her job, losing her husband, or losing the respect of her assistant (talk to meSophie Wilde and her daughters, there are many reasons to judge this relationship. Yet in these scenes, Kidman unleashes a version of the character who is so radiant, so beautifully flawed, so full of longing and shame that she’s understandable. Even though we know that she is making the “wrong choice,” we might be relieved to see someone brave enough to do so. through vicarious living baby girlWith dizzying highs and stomach-churning lows, you might be inspired to embrace your truth, just like Romy does in this film.
Kidman thoughtfully removed herself from the glamor girl movie star pedestal and gave us this gift. While the sexual discovery scenes may feel very childish with their laughter and awkward conversations surrounding consent and kink, baby girl A deep maturity in psychological understanding and empathy for unconventional desires.
As for the Oscars, Kidman’s win at Venice shows she’s in good standing this awards season. Sexual liberation and unapologetic nudity certainly didn’t hurt Emma Stone’s Best Actress campaign last year, so she won poor thing. However, Kidman’s age could be a challenge. Despite an increase in love stories featuring older women and younger men between May and December (including Kidman’s summer movie) family affairs), an older woman’s desire for a younger man can be met with backlash, as we’ve seen with varying receptions your thoughts, A romantic comedy about a middle-aged single mother who hooks up with a 20-something boy band member.
However, it’s Kidman’s performance that stands her in good stead. Harris deftly blends intense fantasy with cloying reality, playing a character who maintains a sexy mystery that makes sense within Romy’s conflicted perspective. Banderas passionately portrays a loving partner/father whose joy in the affair is mingled with the pain he inevitably discovers about it. Wilde’s status as an enthusiastic assistant gradually declined. McGregor plays Romy, the queer daughter with her own love triangle, bringing a free-spirited Gen Z sense of sexual liberation, while Reilly succinctly captures the sweet innocence of a child with her almighty mother The exterior is likely to be shattered.
All in all, the cast baby girl Amazing, both silly and sexy moments. Emotionally naked, unapologetically provocative, and defiantly playful, Wren’s films joyfully explore the complexities of interconnected relationships. Against stiff competition, she delivers one of the sexiest, most thrilling films of the year.
baby girl The film’s North American premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival was met with censorship. A24 will release the film in theaters on December 25th.
