Nicole Kidman opened up about her latest film, Babygirl — an erotic thriller about a powerful CEO who begins an affair with a younger male intern (played by actor Harris Dickinson). During a press conference at the Venice International Film Festival on Thursday, August 29, the 57-year-old actress insisted that she “didn’t feel exploited” while working on sexually graphic scenes for the movie.
While pointing out that Babygirl is “obviously about sex,” Nicole noted that it’s also “about desire, it’s about your inner thoughts, it’s about secrets, it’s about marriage, it’s about truth, power, consent,” according to Variety.
“This is one woman’s story and this is, I hope, a very liberating story,” the Undoing alum explained. “It’s told by a woman, through her gaze — Halina [Reijn] wrote it, and she directed it — and that’s to me what made it so unique because suddenly, I was going to be in the hands of a woman with this material.”
Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson arriving for the Venice Film Festival premiere of BABYGIRL pic.twitter.com/bKvSv9L4i1
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Nicole emphasized that working with a female director helped her feel at ease while filming certain scenes. The Big Little Lies star even called the experience “very freeing” because of how Halina created a safe environment on set.
“It was very dear to our shared instincts and very freeing,” Nicole added. “I knew she wasn’t going to exploit me. However anyone interprets that, I didn’t feel exploited. I felt very much a part of it. There was enormous caretaking by all of us; we were all very gentle with each other and helped each other. It felt very authentic, protected and, at the same time, real.”
Although filming the movie “definitely [left Nicole] exposed and vulnerable and frightened,” she acknowledged that “making it with these people here was delicate and intimate.”
Nicole’s recent remarks about her movie came days after her interview with Vanity Fair was published on Monday, August 26. While speaking with the publication, the Australia native admitted that she hadn’t made a film as “exposing” as Babygirl.
“It left me ragged,” she said about her on-set experience. “At some point, I was like, ‘I don’t want to be touched. I don’t want to do this anymore,’ but at the same time, I was compelled to do it.”
Babygirl will reach theaters on December 25.
