The below contains spoilers for “Eyes Wide Shut” and “Babygirl.”
Santa is delivering not one but two iconic Nicole Kidman performances this year: Just as Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut” celebrates its 25th anniversary, Kidman returns to the psychosexual drama genre with Halina Reijn’s “Babygirl,” in theaters on December 25 to stuff your stocking with.
Sure, Kidman may allegedly be 25 years older (truly, she hasn’t aged a day), but both films are bookends to Kidman’s devotion to risky roles, especially those in films set during the sexual frustrations of the festive holiday season. There’s a reason why “Babygirl” is critically considered as a surrogate sequel to “Eyes Wide Shut.”
Without any real spoilers — although we’re still including a disclaimer above as a gift to you — here’s our guide to getting the most out of the Ho Ho Nicole season. And if you don’t check this list twice, expect to receive Nic-coal instead.
Rewatch All Iconic 2.5ish Hours of “Eyes Wide Shut” with an Eggnog Drinking Game
Take a sip or a swig each time Tom Cruise gets shut down with sexual advances, all while his wife is reveling in the possibility of affairs, both real and imagined. There’s a reason why the final line from Kidman’s Alice Harford is that they finally will “fuck.”
Buy a Ticket to “Babygirl”
We know that Kidman promotes AMC, but really, any theater will do. Heartbreak and sex usually feel good in most places like this.
Compare the Opening Sequence of “Babygirl” to Kidman’s “Eyes Wide Shut” Nude Stroll
Kidman’s legendary strut from “Eyes Wide Shut” is emulated in the opening sequence of “Babygirl” where Romy (Kidman) exits the bedroom where her husband (Antonio Banderas) sleeps post-coital to masturbate in her office. Romy slithers onscreen in a slinky nightgown, before laying down on a carpet as she watches BDSM porn. This is before Harris Dickinson’s character enters the film, obviously…
Kidman reflected on her similar “Eyes Wide Shut” scene that was rife with “mischief” and her signature “provocative nature,” as Kidman told the Los Angeles Times.
“The scene where I drop the dress … that was me. That wasn’t written. That was my dress from my closet,” Kidman said of the sequence shot during the two-year production of the film. “‘This is how I take off the dress, Stanley.’ Because I had a lot of clothes, we weren’t paying to buy clothes. And Stanley had come over and I was showing him all these beautiful dresses. That’s how that happened.”
Debate Whether “Babygirl” Is More “Disturbing” Than “Eyes Wide Shut”
OK, so now you’ve watched “Babygirl.” Take a breath, congratulate writer/director Halina Reijn for her feat, and embrace just how amazing of an actress Kidman is. Now, after a few minutes, did you think it was a “disturbing” film? Is “Eyes Wide Shut” even?
And here we reach the Christmas dinner discussion we’ve been waiting for: As your family slices and dices a ham or a roast or whatever you fancy this holiday, ask what their thoughts are on both portrayals of marriage, desire, and feminism.
Kidman herself has already ushered in this conversation.
“There are many women who are going, ‘Well, I’ve done this, I’ve got children, I’ve got this husband, and what do I actually want? Who am I and what are my desires? Do I have to pretend to be something else for people to love me?’” Kidman said in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “I think it’s very releasing, this film. I hope it is. I’ve had some people say it’s the most disturbing film they’ve ever seen, which I’m like, ‘Oh no, I’m so sorry.’”
No need to apologize: This is what the holidays are all about.
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