Babygirl star Harris Dickinson does not want to call you a “good girl.” The Babygirl actor recently shared that he was approached by a fan who asked him to say the phrase from the film’s steamy trailer, in which Dickinson’s Samuel is heard saying “good girl” twice: at the beginning, while he’s speaking to a dog; and at the end, when he’s talking to his boss-turned-lover, Romy, played by Nicole Kidman
In the film, Romy is a powerful CEO who risks her career and family for a passionate affair with Samuel, a new, young intern at her company. During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Dickinson revealed that Babygirl is already leading to some uncomfortable interactions with fans:
“Someone came up to me off the street and said, ‘Oh, can you say, ‘Good girl?’ I said, ‘No, come on, man. Don’t ask me to say that.’ People need to look past the eroticism of it. It’s a very nuanced film. It’s so much about liberation and the consequences of too much constraint. It’s important that that’s what people are talking about as well.”
Babygirl, which explores the power dynamic between Samuel and Romy, may surprise some moviegoers. On the surface, it may seem like Romy, a high-powered exec, holds the power, but Dickinson says that the film explores how the two “take turns holding the power.”
“Samuel definitely has a weapon in the sense that he’s a younger coworker, and he’s in a much, much lower role at the company. In any world, it’s pretty obvious that those power dynamics and relationships can be problematic — and he holds that as a bit of a tactic. But also, there’s a directness to him that pierces through Romy’s professionalism very quickly.”
Dickinson points out that while Romy worries about hurting Samuel and their age difference, Samuel has the power to ruin Romy’s life, tilting the power dynamic. The trailer suggests a role reversal when the two are intimate, with Romy taking on a more submissive role.
How Babygirl Subverts the Erotic Thriller Genre
Babygirl debuted at this year’s Venice International Film Festival, earning Kidman the Volpi Cup for Best Actress. Kidman has garnered immense praise for her work on the film, with critics applauding her “fearless” portrayal of Romy. Kidman has said that making Babygirl was an emotional process. Besides boasting an impressive cast (that also includes Antonio Banderas and Sophie Wilde), Babygirl comes from A24, and having the reputable production company attached definitely raises expectations.
According to Dickinson, the erotic thriller, written, directed, and co-produced by Halina Reijn (Bodies Bodies Bodies), attempts to “subvert” what audiences are accustomed to seeing in the genre. Part of this means showing the more embarrassing and less sexy parts of intimacy. Dickinson said:
“It goes beyond just sex. It’s also about behavior and love languages and all of that stuff. How does someone want to be treated? How do they respond best? There’s a release for both of them in this relationship. They find this sense of freedom within themselves.”
Reijin also steered clear of showing explicit sex scenes, offering a fresh female-gaze perspective on the genre:
“Showing sex on film can often be so corny and unnecessarily voyeuristic. It’s more interesting to show the awkwardness of sex, or if you’re going to show nudity, then the vulnerability and how exposing that is. Being seen and finding truth together is more sexy than just getting your kit off and shooting a sex scene in the way that’s been done over and over,” Dickinson shares.