I have to be blatantly honest with you all. It took me ages to write this because, well…I didn’t like the film at all. A24 doesn’t usually miss with me, at least from the viewings I’ve seen. I really wanted to like this movie. I really wanted to watch this movie. I hoped, based on previews, that I would be caught up in the sexuality and intrigue. But from start to finish, I had a hard time connecting with this film. Everything just felt awkward to me, not steamy. The one good thing I can comment on is the absolutely stunning cast. Featuring 
Nicole Kidman at the helm, countered by Harris Dickinson, we see a powerful female CEO start an affair with her younger, male intern. Her husband Jacob is played by Antonio Banderas and we see that Romy (Kidman) has two daughters: Isabel (Esther McGregor) and Nora (Vaughan Reilly). From the very beginning of the film, it’s clear that sex is not lacking in her marriage. From the open, we hear and see the couple having sex but we also quickly see her leave after it’s done to masturbate in the office to porn alone. So right from the beginning, they are clearly having sex, but she’s not satisfied. And that lost me immediately.
If you are unsatisfied in your sexual relationship with your partner, it is on you to communicate those feelings and desires. In a healthy adult relationship, you should have no issue telling your partner what you want or desire in the bedroom. As I took from a clinical sexologist years ago on YouTube, you have your 
greens, yellows, and reds. Greens are things you actively want to engage in with your partner. Yellows are things you are hesitant about or want to discuss with your partner, and perhaps create some boundaries around exploring together. And reds are items that are absolutely off the table. The reality is people change, and so does what we want in the bedroom. When you start your relationship, there might be a red that you have no interest in that could turn into a yellow or a green. There might be a yellow that you explore and decide it’s absolutely a red from now on. But in any healthy adult relationship, there should be the ability to openly communicate your sexual desires. If they are judgmental, then they aren’t approaching sex as a team and that’s a whole other conversation.
But straight away, this film sets the tone that she’s sexually unhappy in her marriage, though clearly happy in all other aspects. She’s a business owner, CEO of her own company. With that comes stress and management, so she’s got a lot on her plate that she’s juggling. And here’s where it felt like the film was building her excuses into this choice and this behavior. She sees Samuel (Dickinson) disarm a hostile dog with a cookie and it stirs something in her. She feels something primal, animal even in her sexual desires. He’s just an intern and somehow manages to finagle her as his mentor. Talk about complicating the mentor/mentee relationship. There’s some flirtation in the office, even one kiss that goes over the line. But so far, she hasn’t fully crossed over.
The hotel scene is when she finally goes past the point of no return. Engaging in some of her more base desires, we see Samuel giving her what she wants. In the end, she’s conflicted. She knows what she’s doing is wrong, yet she wants more. They start fucking around in the bathroom at work. Surefire way to get caught, but more on that later. Given the holiday tone of the film, it appears this all happens within a month. We open with a Christmas tree staged, so November at the earliest. Yet we don’t actually make it to Christmas, if I recall correctly. But shortly thereafter, he appears at her home. On his end, he’s doing what he was asked to do for work. Yet she senses he’s out to ruin her. And again, you lost me.
Dominant and submissive kink play works because the submissive person is 100% in charge, hence the point of a safe word. The dominant person vows to respect that and stop when necessary. There’s already a massive power imbalance because she’s the CEO and he’s an intern. She has complete power over his job. Yet he has the power to destroy her life. Realistically, even if he came clean, she has the money and power to smooth things over. But she’s scared. She believes he’ll hold that over her. On his end, he’s insulted that she feels that way about him. But she’s paranoid because she’s fucking someone outside her marriage so how else is she supposed to feel?
Eventually, the two garner enough trust to continue their fling, developing a safe word. Her husband’s name, Jacob, which just feels like a whole other level of fucked up. She does open up to her husband to admit that he never gave her an orgasm. I appreciate her opening up, but it’s not enough because she’s clearly not fully committed to her marriage to make things work that way with her husband. We even see her daughter engage in some light cheating, all creating the subtext that it’s ok. Because even she gets forgiven. The line is fully crossed when Samuel arrives at her daughter’s birthday party with her assistant, Esme (Sophie Wilde). Romy is not only pissed that he’s there, but also pissed that he’s with someone else. “You’re mine.” Well, that’s not exactly how it works. And likely, that wasn’t a boundary discussed at the beginning the way it should be in any dominant/submissive kink play. She warns her assistant away from him, pretending to care about protecting her career. But Samuel enjoys being with Esme because he can be his normal self, without the home-wrecking part. He admits this to Romy. He’s the cuckoo bird in the wrong nest, sabotaging things. When he’s with Esme, he’s not ruining anyone’s life.
Now, here’s where I was back on board momentarily. Esme comes over, fully acknowledging everything to Romy. She knows about Samuel, she knows what they’ve been doing. Now, as an assistant, it’s likely she’s witnessed things or caught on. But I also suspect Samuel might have told her some things on his own. You get the sense that Samuel doesn’t entirely like being this person. I wouldn’t be surprised if he opened up to Esme as a means to have another person help end things. Because he’s a lowly intern. On his own, if he challenged Romy, she could easily destroy his life. She has the money and power to do so. This is, of course, all theory of my own. But after the conversation with Esme, she opens up to her husband. However, she’s still lying. She doesn’t tell him the whole truth. She’s still not committing to this marriage. He tells her to get the fuck out of the house and no one can blame him for that. She leaves their city apartment and goes to their country house where Sam shows up. But so does Jacob.
Cue the fight scene. Cue the panic attack. Cue Samuel leaving it all behind. The couple takes a moment of space. Isabel entreats her mom to come home because, like I said earlier, even her cheating was forgiven, so it’s ok. Esme has gotten her much-desired promotion. Romy has leaned into Esme’s blackmail, choosing to be better at the company but also protecting her own ass. Clearly rumors or information have gone around because someone makes a comment about where that intern went and if she wants some kind of thing, they can make it work. She tells him to go fuck himself. But she’s back in bed with her husband, getting what she wants. She just can’t fully leave Samuel and their relationship behind.
The cast and cinematography were by far the most enjoyable part of the film. Past that, I just couldn’t connect. I cannot stand any film that’s going to somehow justify cheating. I just can’t. If you are unhappy in your relationship, you can choose to handle it. And if the other person isn’t on board, then there’s this thing called divorce. But justifying fucking someone else because of your own bad marital sex just pisses me off. In the end, I had wished it all came tumbling down because I don’t think Romy deserved a happy ending. I think Jacob deserved a hell of a lot better, and we don’t even know what happens to Sam except he’s working for Kawasaki in Japan, likely thanks to Romy in some way, unknown if it’s good or bad. What we are left with are cut scenes of Samuel with the dog in the hotel room, likely representing the two of them together and her giving in to her animalistic desires in the bedroom. Do you even want to be with your husband? It doesn’t seem so, babygirl, and that’s why I just couldn’t stand this film.
