Babygirl’s Nicole Kidman, Halina Reijn on women, sex, and power

“They’re both performing these roles. They’ve never done it before, so there’s an element of insecurity to what they do. And I think that was part of the fun to show that as well with how we explored that,” Dickinson says. “But it’s interesting to think about where has our understanding of sexual relationships come from, whether it’s pop culture or porn or film or whatever. It’s interesting to kind of play with that. And I think Halina wanted to do that, and that was always a part of the conversations.”

The idea of a female gaze on-screen has been a part of the dialectic for years now and this exploration of dom/sub dynamics in and out of the bedroom from a female writer-director lends to those conversations. Kidman shares what it was like to work with a woman on a film where she bares so much of herself in multiple ways.

“[It felt] very safe, very intimate. A lot of freedom and expressing because [she’s] such a great listener,” Kidman says. “To be able to say things, and it felt like secrets were being exchanged, and then she was able to process those and put them into the film. And through that it feels very free and hopefully very visceral. And it’s coming from a very feeling-centered place.”

Babygirl is in theaters Wednesday.

Original Article on The Advocate
Author: Tracy E. Gilchrist