The Nicole Kidman Hall of Fame, and ‘Babygirl’

‘Babygirl’Kidman and Harris Dickinson, dom and sub

Babygirl 2024

Reijn's third feature: Kidman is a robotics-company CEO who risks career and marriage on a submissive affair with an intern (Harris Dickinson, opposite Antonio Banderas as her husband). The hosts read it as an erotic thriller played as a comedy of manners: no murder, no Sharon Stone, just the milk scene, the rave, and 'good girl.' Both are pro, both flag underdeveloped corporate edges and a too-tidy ending; Amanda ties it to 'Eyes Wide Shut' and the year's other aging-woman movie, 'The Substance.'

The Nicole Kidman Hall of Fameten inductees: nine films plus ‘Big Little Lies,’ the first TV title ever let in

Dead Calm 1989

Her 1989 breakthrough, Philip Noyce's boat thriller with Sam Neill and Billy Zane. Yellowed on air, then pulled in as a final pick.

To Die For 1995

Sean's favorite Kidman performance and, he argues, her best: Gus Van Sant's fame satire. The room's first 'hard green.'

Practical Magic 1998

The beloved Sandra Bullock witch movie; the hosts conceded the fandom and let it in.

Eyes Wide Shut 1999

Kubrick's last film; her alluring, vulnerable turn read as the throughline to 'Babygirl.'

Moulin Rouge! 2001

Her widest-audience breakout and an Oscar nod. Sean calls it the most annoying movie ever made; everyone else in the room overruled him.

The Others 2001

Amenábar's ghost story, released the same year as 'Moulin Rouge!': her reserve at its best.

Birth 2004

Sean's favorite Jonathan Glazer film and, to him, one of the best of the century; the long opera close-up is a career high. Auto-green.

Margot at the Wedding 2007

Noah Baumbach; she plays a vividly repellent single mother and never once tries to make you like her.

Babygirl 2024

The week's subject, folded straight in despite the usual rule against inducting the newest release.

Kidman, film by filmthe reds and yellows that didn't make the cut

Days of Thunder 1990

Her Hollywood breakthrough as the doctor to Tom Cruise's Cole Trickle; kicks off the Cruise relationship. Yellowed, not inducted.

Flirting 1991

Australian dramedy with Thandiwe Newton and best friend Naomi Watts; a good movie that lost out on volume.

Billy Bathgate 1991

Robert Benton gangster drama with Dustin Hoffman; a Golden Globe nod for her but 'way too long.' Red.

Far and Away 1992

Ron Howard's fake-epic; the hosts think she and Cruise are both miscast. Red.

Malice 1993

Aaron Sorkin-scripted erotic thriller with the Alec Baldwin 'I am God' speech; the twist hinges on her. Yellowed.

My Life 1993

Michael Keaton records his final days for his unborn child; she's the wife. Red.

Batman Forever 1995

Chase Meridian to Val Kilmer's Batman; important to her visibility, not a performance anyone cares about. Red.

The Portrait of a Lady 1996

First Jane Campion collaboration; Sean finds it one of Campion's dullest. Out.

The Peacemaker 1997

George Clooney's post-ER action thriller. Sean wishes Hollywood still made these; it's still red.

Birthday Girl 2001

Third 2001 release, after 'Moulin Rouge!' and 'The Others'; a thriller that wasn't a success. Red.

The Hours 2002

Her lone Oscar win, as Virginia Woolf under a prosthetic nose; neither host likes it and reads it as a make-good for 'Moulin Rouge!'. Yellowed, not in.

Dogville 2003

The start of her genuinely risky choices, Lars von Trier; she didn't return for the sequel. Yellowed.

The Human Stain 2003

Benton's Philip Roth adaptation with Anthony Hopkins miscast; 'really, really bad.' Out.

Cold Mountain 2003

Minghella; she's stuck in the thankless pining part while Renée Zellweger wins the Oscar. Out.

The Stepford Wives 2004

Frank Oz remake, considered a fiasco; she's good playing with perfection and reserve, but red.

The Interpreter 2005

Sydney Pollack thriller with Sean Penn: 'the ultimate two-and-a-half-star movie.' Red.

Bewitched 2005

Nora Ephron's TV adaptation; underrated and not good, considered a fiasco at the time. Red.

Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus 2006

Small Diane Arbus character study. Red; Amanda hasn't seen it.

Happy Feet 2006

George Miller's dancing-penguin movie; a big box office title she voices, but red.

The Invasion 2007

'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' remake with Daniel Craig, directed by 'Downfall's' Hirschbiegel; some style, not a hit. Red.

The Golden Compass 2007

The failed 'His Dark Materials' launch. Out.

Australia 2008

Baz Luhrmann reunion with Hugh Jackman; Sean watched the 3.5-hour 'Far Away Downs' cut and regretted it. Red.

Nine 2009

Rob Marshall's Daniel Day-Lewis musical; a small part in a disastrous film. No.

Rabbit Hole 2010

Oscar-nominated as a grieving mother; our introduction to Miles Teller, directed by John Cameron Mitchell. Yellowed.

Just Go with It 2011

Adam Sandler vacation comedy; she's fine in a thankless part, not that funny. Red.

Trespass 2011

Nicolas Cage thriller neither host has seen. Red.

The Paperboy 2012

Lee Daniels melodrama (the Zac Efron jellyfish scene); Sean calls it one of her funniest, bravest performances. Yellowed.

Stoker 2013

Park Chan-wook's only English-language film; a steamy movie Sean loved and that got ignored. Yellowed.

The Railway Man 2013

Neither host has seen it. Red.

Grace of Monaco 2014

Olivier Dahan biopic Amanda found boring: 'only about Prince Rainier negotiating taxes.' Out.

Before I Go to Sleep 2014

S.J. Watson psychological thriller with Mark Strong and Colin Firth; unseen, red.

Paddington 2014

She's the taxidermist villain Millicent; the household prefers 'Paddington 2.' Honorary yellow, not in.

Strangerland 2015

Unseen. Red.

Queen of the Desert 2015

Werner Herzog's Gertrude Bell biopic; neither host has seen it. Red.

The Family Fang 2015

Jason Bateman-directed; nobody in the room has seen it. Out.

Secret in Their Eyes 2015

Star-studded remake of the great Argentine film; 'this version stinks.' Red.

Genius 2016

Thomas Wolfe/Maxwell Perkins drama with a wildly miscast literary lineup; 'not a living soul has seen this film.' Red.

Lion 2016

Oscar-nominated, with Dev Patel; not that great. Red.

How to Talk to Girls at Parties 2017

Very small part in the A24 movie. Red.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer 2017

Yorgos Lanthimos; a bold performance that (like 'Babygirl') has thoughts about how her characters like to have sex. Yellowed.

The Beguiled 2017

Sofia Coppola; not among her best work. Out.

The Upside 2019

Bryan Cranston/Kevin Hart remake that was a box office hit; she has a nothing part. Red.

Destroyer 2018

Karyn Kusama; both hosts love it, and it marks her public turn toward working with female directors. Yellowed out of affection.

Boy Erased 2018

Joel Edgerton conversion-therapy drama; sad, not great. Red.

Aquaman 2018

Queen Atlanna, mother of Arthur and Orm. Her highest-grossing movie, and the subject of a long underwater-monarchy tangent. Red.

The Goldfinch 2019

A major disappointment. Red.

Bombshell 2019

Small part; she's good, not Hall of Fame. Red.

The Prom 2020

'Atrocious'; her character is named Angie Dickinson. Red.

Being the Ricardos 2021

Oscar-nominated Sorkin biopic Sean found shameful; she's fine. Out.

The Northman 2022

Robert Eggers; amazing for eight minutes opposite Alexander Skarsgård. Yellowed, doesn't make the cut.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom 2023

Queen Atlanna again. Not going in.

A Family Affair 2024

Netflix rom-com reuniting her with Zac Efron; charming, unrealistic, 'the Instagram-is-evil of streaming movies.' Out.

Spellbound 2024

Netflix animated voice performance; unseen. Red.

In conversationHalina Reijn on ‘Babygirl’

Halina Reijn on

Babygirl 2024

Reijn wrote it about self-love and shame ('can you love yourself completely?') as a sexual comedy in conversation with, and against, the sexist erotic thrillers she grew up on. Father Figure was on the page before Kidman was cast; the rave (her climax) was scored by Dutch DJs Yellow Claw.

Halina Reijn on

Bodies Bodies Bodies 2022

Her A24 breakout, where she discovered humor as a weapon; A24 then encouraged her to write in English.

Halina Reijn on

Triangle of Sadness 2022

She saw its New York premiere and locked onto Harris Dickinson: 'who is this creature?'

Halina Reijn on

Beach Rats 2017

Watched the same night; it convinced her Dickinson had the vulnerability and unusual masculinity she needed for Samuel.

Halina Reijn on

The Brutalist 2024

Her pick for the last great thing she saw. She knows Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold, and loved every second despite dreading the runtime.

Also mentioned raised along the way

The early Australian films (all red) Bush ChristmasBMX BanditsWills & BurkeWindriderThe Bit PartEmerald City

The erotic-thriller lineage Basic InstinctFatal AttractionSecretary

The Best Actress race The SubstanceMariaI'm Still HereHard TruthsAnoraWickedEmilia Pérez

A24's 2024 doubles Civil WarWe Live in TimeHeretic

Baz Luhrmann, elsewhere Strictly BallroomRomeo + JulietThe Great Gatsby

The blonde-biopic detour JackieLa Vie en RoseThe Trial of the Chicago 7

Comparisons and asides TitanicThe Sixth SenseRachel Getting MarriedThe Squid and the WhaleHedwig and the Angry InchShortbusThe Talented Mr. RipleyThe English PatientNotting HillThe Iron ClawPaddington 2The Little MermaidNosferatuFuriosa: A Mad Max SagaMarch of the PenguinsDownfallThe Shape of WaterCarry OnMurder MysteryYou Don't Mess with the ZohanMolly's GameGladiatorSkyfallMy PolicemanThe Snowman

Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads

TV Big Little LiesVietnamBangkok HiltonHemingway & GellhornTop of the Lake: China GirlThe UndoingNine Perfect StrangersRoarSpecial Ops: LionessExpatsThe Perfect CoupleHis Dark MaterialsStranger ThingsLandmanRed Light

Podcasts BandsplainTable MannersThe Big PictureThe Midnight BoysBlank Check

Ads Blinds.comThe AMC Theatres “Nicole Kidman” promo