'Babygirl' finally shows us what subspace feels like

Nicole Kidman starred in Halina Reijn's film Babygirl .

The film explores the themes of dominance and submissiveness in BDSM scenes.

Director Reijn champions the dual meaning of "subspace" and "scene" In a kink setting, there’s a lot of performing, but sex in general can be very performative.

The camera is like a third character in the room with Romy and Samuel in the erotic flow of power exchange.

The camera often remains still and fixed on Romy, letting the viewer accompany her throughout the cascade of emotions coloring her face with arousal.

The cast and production team worked with intimacy coordinator Lizzy Talbot to ensure there were no surprises on set.

By setting Babygirl ’s subspace explorations against a corporate, hetero-mono-normative backdrop, Reijn also makes a political point. However ephemeral, subspace is a consent-bound altered state that resists categorization. Perhaps a way for some of us to survive the capitalist hell is to surrender — to desires or to films like Babygirl — and take Dune’s advice: "Let the film dominate you." Babygirl is now showing in cinemas. Topics Film.