Sure, the overriding takeaway from the 2022 summer season film season was the final lack of theatrical releases. Even amid a number of titles breaking field workplace information and nearly each tentpole performing at the least in addition to anticipated, Cineworld has nonetheless filed for chapter safety. Theaters are nonetheless being starved for content material. Jaws, E.T. and Avatar are rereleasing prefer it’s the summer season of 2020 over again. Total, the movies supplied up earned $3.06 billion home, down 25% from 2019 however down simply 19% from 2017’s $3.77 billion home cume. In fact, there have been simply 132 releases this summer season versus 276 releases in 2019 and 249 in 2017. The issue isn’t with demand, however ratehr provide. That being stated, how did the person motion pictures that we did get in theaters between Might and August carry out? Effectively, let’s dive in.
The unmitigated field workplace champion of the summer season:
High Gun: Maverick so ridiculously overperformed that it singlehandedly created a summer season that, domestically, was down simply 25% from 2019. Had it carried out to pre-release expectations, suppose $150 million home, the general summer season can be down nearer to 40%. As a substitute, it has grossed $684 million home from a record-breaking $160.5 million Memorial Day weekend debut, with its sights set on Black Panther’s $700 million cume. It has, as of yesterday, handed the unadjusted $1.405 billion international cume of Avengers: Age of Ultron to develop into the second greatest ‘half two’ sequel of all time behind Frozen II ($1.45 billion). Whereas Age of Ultron grossed $300 million in China, Tom Cruise’s legacy sequel didn’t even play in China, serving to finish the notion that Hollywood tentpoles wanted Chinese language field workplace to compete globally.
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High Gun: Maverick (which simply dropped on PVOD and EST yesterday) made up 22% of the general summer season film field workplace, which (not counting the summer season of 2020) is the most important share earned by a single summer season film since E.T.: The Further-Terrestrial (23.2%) in the summertime of 1982. With rave critiques, an A+ from Cinemascore, legs worthy of James Cameron and the power to tug in older moviegoers and the kinds of irregular audiences who solely present up for once-in-a-generation occasions like American Sniper, The Ardour of the Christ, Black Panther and The Drive Awakens, High Gun: Maverick was the unquestionable savior of the summer season film season.
The largest field workplace bomb of the summer season:
Lightyear was the primary Pixar film to get a full-blown, uninterrupted (Onward opened theatrically only a week earlier than the world shut down in March of 2020) international theatrical launch since Toy Story 4. After two years of inclusive, authentic and/or formidable titles like Soul, Luca and Turning Crimson going straight to Disney+, there was one thing grimly cynical about Lightyear, a stand-alone, Chris Evans-starring Buzz Lightyear film getting the popular launch remedy. The film was a visually dazzling and surprisingly melancholy critique of nostalgia and arrested improvement amongst older adults. In a world the place any big-scale animated movie was an computerized occasion, Lightyear would have carried out simply high quality. However in the summertime of 2022, it opened with $51 million and flamed out with $118 million home and $226 million worldwide.
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Disney+ conditioning audiences to count on big-deal Disney flicks at dwelling in 45 days ‘totally free’ didn’t assist. Furthermore, Lightyear was Solo 2.0. It was one other unrequested origin story prequel centered on a major character from a profitable franchise performed by a special actor with nothing to supply those that weren’t already onboard with the pitch. Lastly, did on-line controversy over the movie’s same-sex kiss harm? Perhaps, at the least simply sufficient to maintain it beneath The Good Dinosaur ($123 million). Audiences have been so outraged that they spent their cash as a substitute on Physician Unusual within the Multiverse of Insanity, Jurassic World Dominion and Thor: Love and Thunder (all of which featured non-white lesbian co-leads).
The least stunning shock hit of the summer season:
Elvis has simply handed the unadjusted $144.8 million home gross of The Nice Gatsby. It’s now Baz Luhrmann’s greatest North American earner ever. The $85 million Austin Butler/Tom Hanks flick has earned $270 million worldwide, second amongst musical biopics solely to Bohemian Rhapsody ($905 million) however above the likes of Stroll the Line, Rocketman and Straight Outta Compton. Was it a shock hit? Eh, Warner Bros. is the most effective within the enterprise at turning less-conventional biggies into real theatrical hits. They’ve been doing it (at the least) since Magic Mike in 2012, together with (amongst others) Gravity, American Sniper, It, Loopy Wealthy Asians, Joker and Dune. Reside-action musicals and/or musically inclined melodramas have been, in pre-Covid occasions, among the many safer theatrical sub-genres, as we noticed with Pitch Good 2, La La Land, The Biggest Showman and A Star Is Born.
In a world the place marquee characters are butts-in-seats film stars, Elvis Presley was up there (comparatively talking) with Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, Physician Stephen Unusual and Gru. Sturdy critiques (together with some pans out of Cannes that also made it seem to be a must-see) and a terrific trailer enjoying in entrance of just about each theatrical displaying of High Gun: Maverick (thus promoting itself to the older, irregular moviegoers WB was chasing) did the trick. Furthermore, with doubtless Oscar nominations on the best way, Elvis’s success appeared to persuade Discovery’s David Zaslov that Warner Bros.’ theatrical slate isn’t nearly DC Movies.
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The so-called disappointments that have been truly big hits:
Physician Unusual within the Multiverse of Insanity has earned $411 million home, greater than Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Removed from Residence, Iron Man 3 and Captain America: Civil Conflict. It has earned $955 million worldwide, turning into Marvel’s third greatest no Iron Man/no Spider-Man flick behind solely Captain Marvel ($1.128 billion) and Black Panther ($1.346 billion). It didn’t play in China or Russia. In any other case, it doubtless would have handed Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Removed from Residence ($1.13 billion). Eradicating these two key territories, Physician Unusual 2 earned 77% extra domestically and 109% greater than Physician Unusual.
In the meantime, Thor: Love and Thunder is about to domestically go the $333-$336 million likes of Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Joker, Aquaman and Spider-Man 3. It has bought extra tickets in North America ($315 million in 2017/$322 million adjusted) than Thor: Ragnarök. It has earned $740 million worldwide so far, down 15% from Thor 3 however +4% (up to now) when you take away Russia and China. It’s additionally the fourth Thor film which, regardless of blended critiques, mushy buzz and a media attempting to proclaim that Marvel is doomed as a result of High Gun: Maverick was an even bigger hit (Wakanda Without end and Guardians Vol. 3 would love a phrase), managed to outgross each different Thor film.
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I’m certain Lionsgate might be thrilled if John Wick: Chapter 4 finally ends up with solely 5% greater than John Wick: Chapter 3’s $322 million cume.
The horror breakout and the (slight) horror disappointment:
Blumhouse’s The Black Cellphone has earned $89 million home, their third-biggest non-Jordan Peele authentic behind (when you don’t maintain its Unbreakable epilogue in opposition to it) M. Night time Shyamalan’s Cut up ($138 million) and the primary Paranormal Exercise ($107 million). It has earned over $150 million on a $19 million funds, confirming the notion that Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill didn’t want the second Physician Unusual film (which they left over inventive variations) to make a popular culture influence. The difference of Joe Hill’s brief story, a couple of younger boy trapped in a basement and speaking with the ghosts of his captor’s earlier victims, joins Elvis as a true-blue sleeper smash, incomes practically 4 occasions its $23 million opening and persevering with to thrive even because it entered the PVOD and Peacock afterlife.
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In the meantime, Jordan Peele’s Nope turned the primary R-rated film to prime $100 million home since Dangerous Boys for Life. It is probably not a super-smash, particularly on a $69 million funds, however $120 million isn’t unhealthy for an R-rated, star-lite high-concept authentic. If Common loses cash on theatrical, I’d think about they’ll make up for it on PVOD (starting this Friday). In any other case, nicely, being prepared to take a slight loss on a Jordan Peele film nonetheless works for Common’s present ‘secure place for marquee filmmakers’ narrative. Conversely, Peele may be penalized by being ‘sentenced’ (and paid accordingly) to direct Quick & Livid 11. Heavy is the top that wears the crown.
Common’s twin titans:
Partially resulting from covid-caused post-production delays for movies like Black Adam and partially resulting from studio programmers like Shotgun Wedding ceremony and The Man from Toronto being despatched to streaming, Comcast (Common and Focus) generally appeared to be the one studio that acted like an everyday studio this summer season. I give Disney loads of grief (that they had a complete slate of twentieth Century Studios flicks that went straight to Hulu), however they supplied up three would-be tentpoles and might be ‘saving’ theaters with Black Panther: Wakanda Without end and Avatar: The Method of Water at 12 months’s finish. Even amid a famine, Common and Focus are nonetheless releasing the likes of Beast, Honk for Jesus Save Your Soul, Bros, Halloween Ends and Ticket to Paradise.
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Furthermore, Amblin’s Jurassic World Dominion earned $375 million home from a $145 million debut. It grossed $160 million in China, beneath $227 million for Jurassic World and $262 million for Fallen Kingdom however second solely to Godzilla Vs. Kong and Hobbs & Shaw amongst Covid-era Hollywood exports, for a possible over/beneath $995 million international cume. Illumination’s Minions: The Rise of Gru proved that households would nonetheless present up for animated movies in tentpole numbers, breaking the Independence Day file ($128 million Fri-Mon) and legging out previous Minions ($336 million) and now previous $350 million home. The $80 million toon isn’t breaking out in China, however a possible over/beneath $900 million international cume remains to be simply high quality, thanks.
The remainder of the story:
Sony’s The place the Crawdads Sing has handed $100 million worldwide on a $24 million funds, partially by being the one huge theatrical launch for/from/about girls this summer season. DC League of Tremendous Pets (which can doubtless end with $80 million home and now has $130 million international) and Bullet Practice ($69 million home and $150 million worldwide up to now) in all probability would have been higher acquired, by way of industrial narratives, earlier than the blow-out tentpole earners. Brad Pitt’s studio programmer opened on par with and is legging in addition to Sandra Bullock’s The Misplaced Metropolis. DC Tremendous Pets is enjoying like a non-tentpole Warner Bros. animated launch (suppose Storks and Small Foot). Downton Abbey: A New Period did high quality with $92 million worldwide, whereas Paws of Fury and Bob’s Burgers each bombed as badly as they might have in pre-Covid occasions.
Easter Sunday at the least confirmed Common’s dedication to live-action comedies. A24’s line-up (Our bodies Our bodies Our bodies, Marcel the Shell with Footwear On and Males) have been extra blogged about than seen. Oh, China’s pleasant (and remake-friendly, natch) Moon Man has crossed $400 million in China, turning into their second huge hit of the 12 months behind Battle at Lake Changjin 2 ($611 million). And that, girls, gents and anybody else in between, is the 2022 summer season film season. The tentpoles largely did high quality, however there simply weren’t sufficient mid and large-sized motion pictures. Theaters can not depend upon overperformers like High Gun: Maverick to make up the distinction.
“People make up their past, they remember what they want, they forget the rest.”
So says Timothée Chalamet, who plays Bob Dylan in the brilliant new film, A Complete Unknown, in a tense confrontation with Elle Fanning, who plays Sylvie Russo, a character based on Dylan’s on-and-off NYC girlfriend Suze Rotolo, as she prods him to share more about his mysterious past. Of course, he doesn’t, setting the stage for the enduring mystery of perhaps the greatest singer-songwriter of all time, a puzzle that continues to intrigue us.
I was fortunate to attend an advance screening of the movie over the weekend, and I can assure you, the buzz around this film is real. A Complete Unknown deserves all the accolades you’ve been hearing – including three Golden Globe nominations and Oscar talk for Chalamet, as well as for Edward Norton, who plays a perfect Pete Seeger. At the screening, the sold-out Newport audience widely applauded the film as the closing credits rolled; no one yelled “Judas” and no boos were audible.
The film, which should appeal to a wide audience given Chalamet’s youthful charm, opens Christmas Day across the country and begins an extensive run at Newport’s Jane Pickens Theatre on December 26. Advance tickets are available here.
Unlike some other great music biopics (Walk the Line, Bohemian Rhapsody, Coal Miner’s Daughter), A Complete Unknown covers a comparatively brief period in Dylan’s life, from his arrival and rise to fame in New York’s Greenwich Village in 1961, to that divisive moment when he “went electric” at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, a cultural moment as important as Elvis on Ed Sullivan or The Beatles landing at JFK.
Chalamet is extraordinary playing the well-known singer, but still manages to build out his own character, much like Joachin Phoenix did in his Johnny Cash interpretation in I Walk the Line. And that’s not easy – Dylan is quirky and not easy to mimic. In interviews, Chalamet has said that he had several years to learn Dylan’s mannerisms, mirroring his vocals and acquiring his distinct guitar strumming patterns. He sings all the songs in the film, very close to the original recordings. And it works – Dylan himself recently approved the performance in a widely shared tweet.
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Director James Mangold boldly re-creates Greenwich Village in the early 60s, with all the spirited grit and grime of the time, in street scenes and tightly packed basement nightclubs where folk music ruled the day. The story is compelling, the music is authentic, and the acting is outstanding all-around, with love interests Elle Fanning (Sylvie Russo) and Monica Barbaro (Joan Baez) brilliant in their supporting roles.
Mangold doesn’t over-mythologize Dylan, and the film doesn’t shy away from the singer’s darker side, his often rude treatment of those close to him, especially women, and his nasty eye rolls directed toward his mentor, folk legend Pete Seeger. Bob Dylan – always an enigma, kind of a bully, and occasionally “an asshole” as Barbaro, playing Baez, tells him.
Of course, the film plays fast and loose with many facts; Rolling Stone magazine spotted over two dozen places where the film veers from the known historical record, but let’s remember that this a work of historical fiction, not a documentary. It’s closer to the spirit of the truth than anything else I’ve seen about Dylan, including interviews with the bard, who is known for his reticence and occasional deception. The story closely mirrors that period in his life, and the spirit of the narrative is certainly one version of the truth.
Meanwhile, here on Aquidneck Island, where Dylan and his like stormed the Bastille at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, he’s not so unknown. His spirit is ever present at the Festival, where he appeared from 1963-1965 and again in 2002, sporting a strange wig that still has fans guessing. The “City by the Sea,” along with Greenwich Village, serve almost as co-stars in the film, with frequent Newport references and numerous scenes from the festival grounds and the Viking Hotel. (Note: those scenes were filmed mainly in New Jersey.)
As far as getting to know Dylan’s motivations a little better through the film, that ain’t happening. Chalamet plays him close to the chest, as elusive as ever. When I interviewed longtime Festival producer George Wein in 2015, he told me that Dylan, like Miles Davis in the jazz world, intentionally curated a certain persona, centered around an air of mystery. “Both were always concerned with not doing what you expected of them … throughout their life,” said Wein. “Dylan, his last album, nobody would ever dream he would do an album of Tin Pan Alley ballads.”
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The film echoes Wein’s remarks. Dylan was never afraid to take the initiative, from visiting Woody Guthrie in the hospital when he arrived in New York to choosing an electric guitar at Newport in ’65. Sure, he was influenced by the people around him, but he was always his own boss, rarely submitting to the will of others. He did things his way, and continues to do so, like it or not. Perhaps that’s part of the reason he’s such the icon he has become today. Indeed, “If you’re not busy being born, you’re busy dying.”
Click here for more information on A Complete Unknown.
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Now, with visions of sugar plums in your head, read on to see how these Christmas movie foods stack up.
Vernon was elected President of the Eastern Navy Board on May 6, 1777, in Boston, which lasted for the duration of the American Revolutionary War.
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Sunny von Bülow lived almost 28 years in a permanent vegetative state until her death in a New York nursing home on December 6, 2008.
RED ONE (2024) directed by Jake Kasdan, stars Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans, is an urban fantasy Christmas action-thriller, fitting neatly into no known genre, which will perhaps be enjoyable to anyone willing to grant the somewhat silly premise, and perhaps not to anyone unwilling.
This film enjoys a remarkably high audience score but a remarkably low score from the establishment film critics. This is usually a sign that the film is normal and enjoyable, not perverse nor woke.
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But the film did not seem normal to me, by which I mean, I can think of no other urban fantasy Christmas action-thriller. As such, this film runs the risk of falling between the stools. Action film fans might well pan it for its fantastical elements, whereas fans of Christmas family films might well pan it for its untraditional, even disrespectful, handling of common elements of the Santa Claus fairy tale.
As for Christians, we have long ago ceased to expect any mention of Christ or Christmas in a Christmas movie, aside from Linus quoting scripture in a Charlie Brown telly special from two generations ago.
Regardless, this filmgoer found the film perfectly enjoyable: nor were any elements visible which might provoke the establishment film critics. I cannot explain the high audience score nor the low critic score.
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In the film, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson plays Callum Drift, a hardboiled six-foot-five elf serving a remarkably trim and athletic Santa as his chief of North Pole security.
Drift wishes to retire, as the Naughty List grows ever longer, and his faith in mankind fails. However, even as he is preparing his resignation letter, he sees Santa’s workshop assaulted by a black ops team of kidnappers. Draft gives chase, but the evildoers elude him.
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Santa’s workshop is hidden beneath a holographic forcefield, but the secret international body charged with keeping the peace between the various mythical entities, the M.O.R.A (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority) soon discovers a hacker who broke into their security and betrayed them: gambling lowlife and deadbeat dad Jack O’Malley, played with evident zest by Chris Evans.
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We are treated to a scene of O’Malley picking up his juvenile-delinquent son after school, where the boy got detention for monkeying with the school computer records: the father thereupon gives him a stern talking-to, that is, by cautioning him to cover his tracks better, and trust no confederates.
This is after we see O’Malley stealing candy from a baby, just so the audience harbors no doubt that this is not Captain America.
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In short order O’Malley is mugged by MORA agents and brought in for questioning: not knowing who hired him, O’Malley nonetheless planted spyware on his paymaster, hence knows his location, but nothing else. The O’Malley and Drift are forced to team up against the better judgment of both: shenanigans ensue.
The pair must battle evil snowmen, sneak into a monster-infested castle, and confront an eerie player-piano playing the Nutcracker suite perched in the middle of an empty, fog-bound highway in Germany.
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In one particularly well-done scene, O’Malley and his juvenile-delinquent son are miniaturized and trapped in snow-globes meant to imprison the unrepentant. When he sees his son terrified, O’Malley’s fatherly instincts come to the fore: he confesses his mistakes, he asks forgiveness, and he vows to amend his ways. Any mainstream critic not familiar with threefold steps of traditional Christian confession might not grasp the significance.
ikewise, anyone unfamiliar with the less well known nooks and crannies of Old World Christmas lore might not recognize the figures chosen to be the heavies here: Gryla is an Icelandic ogress who eats naughty children at Christmas time, while Krampus, from Romania, is goat-horned fork-tongued helper to Saint Nicholas, who punishes naughty children by birching them with a rod, or stuffing them in to a bag for abduction or drowning.
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No version of these tales ever took root in America Christmas tradition — being rather alien to the American spirit — albeit within the last ten years, as our spirit is being lost, among the anti-Christmas crowd and low-grade horror directors Krampus has gained popularity. The version of Krampus is this film is rather charming in his own dark way, which may have the unfortunate side-effect the augmenting the popularity of the anti-Christmas or low-grade horror film versions.
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All three characters, Drift, O’Malley, and even Krampus have uncomplex but satisfying character arcs: Drift regains his faith in humanity after O’Malley turns over a new leaf. This character growth, as stated, is uncomplex, as befits an action movie, but satisfying, as befits a Christmas movie.
And the rule of fairy-tale was strictly followed, which is, namely, that when you are told to touch nothing, and you touch something, disaster ensues.
The tale is set in our modern world, but with certain enclaves of the mythological world scattered here and there, hidden behind mist and illusion. This conceit of a hidden world within our own is familiar and beloved trope of the genre.
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The special effects deceived my eye: to me they looks smooth and seamless. And the props and settings and art direction in general seemed a blend of gothic and cyberpunk Victoriana, as befits a high-tech version of Christmasland.
The fantastical elements of the movie are well handled, by which I mean the abilities, and also the limitations, of every magical power or magical tool is briefly but succinctly made clear: the audience should be no more bewildered than Jack O’Malley. Anything not explained in dialog was clear enough in how it was used. Of note was the “reality adjustment” wristband used by Drift, which allowed him to turn rock’em-sock’em robots or matchbox cars real.
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There was also a clever bit of by-play which allowed the befuddled characters to recognize each other despite being bedeviled by shapechangers.
The theme of the piece is appropriately straightforward: no rogue is beyond redemption, nor any cynic either. This is as befits as thoroughly secular version of an urban fantasy Christmas action thriller comedy, I suppose.
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As part of the conceit of the film, just as jolly fat Santa is here fit and hardboiled military type (the marine version of Saint Nick, as it were) so too is his miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer here replaced by a high-tech flying behemoth pulled by monstrous deer-titans.
I have no complaint about this film in part because I was expecting it to be terrible, when, in fact, it was enjoyable good clean fun. Nothing lewd, crude or shocking was involved.
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Still, it was a good, clean, fun movie, starring charming actors and actresses, with thrilling action scenes, funny comedic bits, great deadpan acting from Dwayne Johnson — who, let it be known — just plays Dwayne Johnson being himself, and wry snark from Chris Evans.
Christmas Specials involve the birth of Christ, and Xmas Specials involve Santa Claus. Here, Santa is called “Saint Nicholas of Myra” once in one line — which is the closest this otherwise entirely secular-Xmas film comes to acknowledging the meaning of Christmas.
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You can watch Red One now on Amazon Prime Video here.
1 of 6 | Harris Dickinson and Nicole Kidman star in “Babygirl,” in theaters Dec. 25. Photo courtesy of A24
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 22 (UPI) —Babygirl, in theaters Wednesday, is the kind of erotic drama they used to make a lot in the ’80s and ’90s. As such, it is refreshing in 2024, though perhaps still derivative of its genre predecessors.
Romy Mathis (Nicole Kidman) is the founder and CEO of Tensile, a robotics company developing automated drones for warehouses. She is married to a theater director, Jacob (Antonio Banderas), and they have two daughters.
When Tensile begins a mentorship program for interns, Samuel (Harris Dickinson) pushes Romy’s buttons to get one-on-one time with her. His power plays unlock Romy’s repressed sexual desires and they begin an affair.
Playing power games may be inherent to many sexual relationships, so it’s not like one movie invented them, but it’s hard not to think about 9½ Weeks. In that notorious 1986 film, Mickey Rourke played a man who seduces a woman (Kim Basinger) with sex games involving food, spanking and blindfolds.
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Still, Babygirl doesn’t play Romy as a cliche of a powerful businesswoman who really likes to be submissive in bed and experience the adrenaline of risking exposure.
Not that the affair compromises Romy’s success, either, although it could if Samuel reports her. She also starts to blur the lines of being submissive in private and at the office, but she doesn’t let it interfere with business decisions.
The love scenes between Kidman and Dickinson are revealing, but not gratuitous. They are vulnerable and uncomfortable rather than titillating.
The way writer-director Halina Reijn approaches consent is interesting and seems realistic. Samuel does insist on consent before continuing, which is a fantastic portrayal of obtaining verbal consent, though the conditions of Romy’s consent remain nebulous.
Romy makes it clear that Samuel’s power games make her uncomfortable. Agreeing to continue while feeling uncomfortable seems like it adds a level of duress.
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It’s 80 minutes into the movie before Samuel and Romy even discuss using a safe word, which would give either party, but especially Romy, a way to end a session at her discretion. Yet, this is believable because Romy and Samuel are amateurs at this, so they’re figuring it out.
Samuel may play the dominant role, but he is in many respects just a poser. He is a young intern and very emotional when things don’t go his way.
It seems like Samuel is imitating what he thinks a Casanova would act like, but whenever Romy goes off script, Samuel seems to be at a loss for words. It’s not natural to him, either, though he thinks of some clever workplace games that make Romy play along.
He’s probably watched 9½ Weeks, too, or more likely just read the Wikipedia summary.
The Jacob character is the film’s most stereotypical.
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Jacob is a loving husband who just can’t excite Romy. Romy tries to teach him to play games in bed, but Jacob doesn’t enjoy experimenting. It’s odd that a person whose job is in the arts would lack any creativity with his partner, but he’s entitled to have traditional desires, too.
The lack of monogamy is an unmitigated betrayal, as even submissive relationships should respect loyalty unless they’ve discussed and agreed to having an open relationship. The film eventually explores how a couple navigates compatibility, but Romy has to own hers first.
Individual choices the characters make in Babygirl will provoke discussions, and won’t be spoiled in this review. The positive is that the film does show Romy’s growth through the experience.
So, even if a viewer disagrees with part of the journey, the film makes its case for the value of those experiences. That makes it an engaging, provocative film.
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Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.