Could Nicole Kidman score a fifth Best Actress nomination for her performance in racy thriller Babygirl, which has just debuted at the Venice Film Festival?
The short answer is yes. The longer answer is that it’s complicated.
In the Halina Reijn-directed erotic-thriller, Kidman plays a high-powered CEO who puts her career and family on the line when she begins a torrid affair with her much younger intern (played by Harris Dickinson).
The early word on Kidman from critics here on the Lido is very positive. Deadline’s Damon Wise said: “It’s hard to ignore the amount of dedication, not to mention naked flesh, that she brings to the role….Kidman really goes the distance, imbuing Romy with a psychological vulnerability that is missing from the film it most obvious sounds like (50 Shades of Grey) and presenting a unique reversal of the film it most obviously looks like (Secretary).”
BBC critic Nicholas Barber said Kidman “gives her bravest and best performance in quite some time”, while Indiewire called the performance “fearless”.
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Vanity Fair wrote: “What is decidedly clear, consistent, and declarative in the film is the force of seeing Kidman venture down yet another new avenue, tossing self-consciousness out the window (or, maybe, just laying it aside for a while) to help realize Reijn’s curious vision. One struggles to think of another actor of her status who would do such a thing these days. In the end, it might be Nicole Kidman who, among other many other accomplishments, saves sex in cinema.”
Kidman won Best Actress in 2002 for The Hours and was most recently nominated in 2022 for Being The Ricardos.
The film itself has gone down well on the whole and stands at 88% from 16 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Dickinson has also been widely praised.
However, the genre, the subject and the depth of this year’s Best Actress field could be obstacles to Kidman’s march toward another Academy nomination.
One festival programmer told me: “I loved the film. It’s too risky a role to win the Oscar but she’s definitely ‘in the race’”.
One BAFTA-voter said of Kidman’s Oscar chances: “I wouldn’t rule it out. It’s possible. I imagine she’ll campaign for it. It’s also a very obvious Independent Spirit contender.” Meanwhile, a critic at a national newspaper told me: “She could get an Oscar nom.”
Isabelle Huppert’s Oscar nomination for Elle (the French actress is head of this year’s Venice jury, by the way) and Michelle Yeoh’s for Everything Everywhere All At Once feel like fitting recent precedent for the Academy recognising popular and acclaimed veteran actresses in genre movies. But will Babygirl‘s nudity and intimacy prove too much? Many countries, including America, struggle more with on-screen sex than violence. Maggie Gyllenhaal came in for critical praise and Golden Globe and Indie Spirit nominations for Secretary in 2002, but that didn’t convert to any Oscar recognition for the film. Diane Lane did get a nomination that same year for adultery drama-thriller Unfaithful, however (ironically in the year Kidman won for The Hours).
As another critic pointed out to me, the influx of younger Academy members could potentially stand a risqué movie like Babygirl in good stead. Emma Stone and Michelle Yeoh’s wins in the last two years could point to an Academy that is already more comfortable recognising less ‘traditional’ films and performances. That will also be the hope for those behind Substance, another genre movie whose star — Demi Moore — came in for high praise at Cannes.
As we pointed out yesterday in relation to Angelina Jolie’s chances with Maria, this is also a very deep class. Among anticipated performances still to come this year are Saoirse Ronan in The Outrun and Blitz, Julianne Moore in The Room Next Door, Marianne Jean-Baptiste in Hard Truths, and Robin Wright in Here. Lauded turns to date include Karla Sofía Gascón in Emilia Pérez, Mikey Madison in Anora, and the aforementioned Demi Moore in The Substance. Wildcards include Lady Gaga, Fernanda Torres and Pamela Anderson.
A24 is handling the domestic release of Babygirl and has set a December 25 launch.