For decades, actresses in their 50s found themselves stuck as sexless mothers or grandmothers, no matter how erotic their prior roles had been. As she approaches 60, Nicole Kidman turns that concept on its ear with 2024’s Babygirl.

Romy Mathis (Kidman) appears to live an amazingly successful life. She works as CEO of a tech company and lives with her theater director husband Jacob (Antonio Banderas) and daughters Isabel (Esther McGregor) and Nora (Vaughan Reilly).

However, Romy feels unfulfilled, and these urges manifest when she meets intern Samuel (Harris Dickinson). They begin a torrid affair, one that places the domineering Romy in an unusually submissive and vulnerable position.

If nothing else, Kidman deserves credit for her willingness to push boundaries. After roughly 35 years as a movie star, she could easily lean back into rom-coms with other aging “A-listers” and not bother with anything risqué or daring.

Instead, Kidman goes down a dark and provocative path with Babygirl, and she never shies away from the material. She doesn’t attempt to get the filmmakers to tone down the character, as instead she embraces Romy’s complex nature and potentially perverse desires.

All this could become crass and exploitative but makes it clear that Romy engages voluntarily and eagerly. Yeah, Babygirl engages in a little more cheap stabs at psychological explanation than I might like, but it still ensures that we find a character who delves into potentially degrading behaviors by choice.

Dickinson creates an appropriately slippery foil, one whose nature never seems completely clear. Indeed, the movie’s ending leaves his role even more up for grabs, as it feels tough to pin down how much his behavior might’ve been planned well in advance.

For instance, when we first meet Samuel, he saves Romy from an aggressive dog. Did he act in a semi-heroic manner or did he orchestrate this as a set-up?

The movie leaves that vague, as it does with other character and relationship complexities. These continue through the very last scene, one that seems likely to inspire debate about its meaning.

Which feels like a good thing to me. So many movies spell out every little character trait and event in a manner that leaves no room for interpretation or nuance.

Babygirl avoids that trend. Much of the tale remains open to interpretation, but in a provocative manner, not a frustrating one.

Dickinson makes Samuel a good contrast to Romy. He plays the role in a sly manner that keeps the viewers off-guard.

I also like that Babygirl doesn’t make Jacob a passive cuck. Too many films in which wives cheat provide milquetoast husbands with zero personality or charisma, essentially to bolster female fantasies and make it “okay” that the women stray from marital vows.

It seems tough to imagine Banderas ever portrayed as a hapless “beta male”, and Babygirl shows him as passionate and invested. His only potential flaw stems from his reluctance to engage in Romy’s kinkier side, but the movie never villainizes him for this.

Some aspects of Babygirl sag toward the end, mainly because it leans toward more predictable confrontations and complications. Nonetheless, it provides a pretty engaging view of a women’s journey toward self-realization.

Babygirl appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.00:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The film’s visuals looked very good.

The shows offered solid clarity. Some mild softness impacted the presentation in a few wider shots, but those instances remained minor.

No issues with jagged edges or shimmering appeared, and I saw no edge haloes. Source flaws failed to mar the presentation.

Babygirl opted for a palette with a teal and amber tint. Within those parameters, the colors seemed fine.

Blacks were deep and tight, while shadows appeared positive. Overall, the film provided appealing visuals.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the film’s Dolby Atmos soundtrack suited the story but didn’t dazzle. The soundstage appeared nicely broad at the appropriate times and could be moderately engulfing on occasion. It's a talky little movie, so the focus was mainly up front, but the audio expanded when necessary.

This occurred mostly via scenes in streets or parties, so the surrounds didn’t have a lot to do beyond general atmosphere. That said, the imaging made sense for the narrative.

Sound quality seemed fine. Dialogue always appeared crisp and natural, and I had no trouble understanding it. The score was warm and distinctive.

Effects also seemed realistic and adequate for the task at hand. Babygirl won't provide anyone's demo track, but the mix worked well for the film.

As we head to extras, we open with an audio commentary from writer/director Halina Reijn. She provides a running, screen-specific look at story and characters, themes and meaning, cast and performances, sets and locations, costumes, influences, music, editing and cut scenes.

For the most part, Reijn offers a pretty introspective and informative chat. She does narrate the movie a little too often, but she still adds good insights.

Two featurettes follow, and Directing Desire spans 11 minutes, three seconds. It brings notes from Reijn, production designer Stephen H. Carter, and actors Nicole Kidman, Antonio Banderas, and Harris Dickinson.

“Desire” examines cast and performances as well as story/characters, Reijn’s work on the set, sets and visual design, and music. We get a mix of useful notes and happy talk.

Power Looks runs nine minutes, nine seconds. It provides info from Reijn, Kidman, Banderas, Dickinson and costume designers Kurt and Bart.

This one covers costumes. Despite some fluff, “Looks” gives us a pretty solid view of the topic.

Five Deleted Scenes occupy a total of eight minutes, 21 seconds. These tend toward a bit more character development, especially related to Romy.

Individually, the segments seem moderately interesting. However, none of them really add to the story, so they made sense as cuts.

Inside the disc’s sleeve, we get six Photo Cards that depict shots from the film. These seem harmless but not much of an addition,

Thanks to a strong cast and a non-judgmental vibe, Babygirl turns into an effective view of a middle-aged woman’s sexual journey. It tells its tale in a complex manner that gives it punch. The Blu-ray brings positive picture and audio as well as a mix of bonus materials. Expect a bracing character drama here.