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Why Did I Hate ‘Babygirl’
It’s not just a Babygirl review — a reminder of narrative basics and brief BDSM lore.
First things first: Babygirl (2024) is not a film. It’s a cinematic masturbation in which Halina Rajin, the director, satisfies her profound artistic delirium as some cheesy classical music fills every unnecessarily long scene. Not to mention that the film, from start to finish, becomes one of Nicole Kidman’s desperate attempts to prove the immortality of her acting skills and beauty.
Babygirl is pulp fiction at best. In terms of narrative, it is nothing more than a stillbirth, devoid of character development and depth. Erotically, its understanding of BDSM dynamics is nonsense, at least for those who have ever been in such a relationship. And as a thriller, it’s barely a strain on the nerves and one’s convictions.
Babygirl is a Hollywood crap at worst — indeed, it is. But I’m not going to talk about camera technique or anything like that in this piece. I am going to show you how badly Babygirl even failed to use the basic narrative principles that work to build a proper story.