You may have heard that romance novels are having a moment. The genre, which has been popular for decades (even centuries!), has gained more visibility in recent years thanks in part to #BookTok, new screen adaptations of well-known titles, and — most importantly — an increasing centering of women’s desire.
Romance novels have their own unique language, with a variety of tropes, character types, and subgenres that have become a part of our pop culture lexicon. (Friends to lovers, forced proximity, grumpy sunshine, fake relationships… the list goes on.) There are sprawling romantasy series, one-off fan-fiction adaptations, sexy smut-forward tales, and more grounded stories set in (an albeit glossy version of) the real world. But the one thing that all romance books have in common is a main character (often a woman) getting exactly what they want — whether that means a romantic happy ending, a torrid affair, satisfying sex, or all of the above.
The same holds true in the new A24 film Babygirl, in theaters December 25. The movie stars Nicole Kidman (no stranger to erotic thrillers) as Romy, a high-powered CEO of an artificial intelligence company. She’s jolted out of her everyday, manicured life when she meets a new intern at the company, Samuel, played by internet boyfriend of the moment Harris Dickinson. We learn early on that Romy’s sex life with her husband (Antonio Banderas) is unsatisfying, and when she sees Samuel for the first time she’s almost instantaneously drawn to his strange, aloof yet confrontational energy. After a few more run-ins involving the company holiday party (oh yeah, did we mention Babygirl is a Christmas movie?) and a one-on-one mentorship program, she and Samuel embark on a twisted game of sex and seduction.
Though one wouldn’t necessarily describe the movie as “romance,” Babygirl adheres to a few romance and smut tropes, including a dom/sub dynamic and more than one clandestine sex scene in a hotel room. (You could add “age gap” and “secret romance” to the list as well.) Like in many romance novels, sexuality is very present throughout the film (though it often comes from unexpected sources, like a dog on the sidewalk being called to heel or a glass of milk — you’ll see).
But the movie’s connection to romance novels is bigger than just that. When Babygirl starts, Romy is living an outwardly perfect, put-together life, but her fantasies involve something much darker. She’s not used to getting what she wants in her sexual encounters, but through Samuel she finally achieves a romance-novel-level version of what she’s been dreaming of — an orgasm, an affair, a realization of decades of pent-up and repressed desire. For the first time, she gets exactly what she wants.
It’s complicated, of course, by the position of power she holds at the company and our post-#MeToo world. With the corporate office always (often literally) looming in the background, the film never shies away from those power dynamics and the complicated actions of its lead female character. At the heart of it all is Kidman’s bold performance as Romy. Her collaboration with director Halina Reijn (previously of A24’s Bodies Bodies Bodies) has led to some of the best work of her career; she’s already won awards for the performance and is likely on the road to picking up more.
Babygirl is as addicting as any romance page-turner and hotter than the most popular smut on the market, with a smart twist on female desire and power. Get your tickets before it hits theaters on December 25 (maybe even plan for a #Babyratu double feature), and watch the trailer below.
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