Nicole Kidman’s Sexy, Sweaty ‘Babygirl’ Makes Venice Climax to 6.5-Minute Standing Ovation

Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson brought sexy back to Venice Friday night at the premiere of Halina Reijn’s kinky, sex-filled “Babygirl.”

With Kidman playing a high-powered CEO and Dickinson as the young intern she with whom starts a sexual relationship, “Babygirl” stimulated the Venice audience, leading to a 6.5-minute standing ovation that lasted all the way through the credits.

“It’s so hot,” Kidman said as she waved to fans before entering the Sala Grande Theatre on a sweaty Friday night in Italy where temperatures crept up to 90 degrees. But “Babygirl” seemed to only heat things up more as the movie got underway. Kidman’s character Romy pushes the limit in a game of workplace sex games with her intern, in perhaps her most provocative role since “Eyes Wide Shut.”

As the audience erupted in cheers at the end of “Babygirl,” Kidman hugged Reijn and blushed a little at all the attention.

Shortly after the ovation ended, Dickinson was spotted in the men’s bathroom. “I almost didn’t sit through,” he told a friend, before adding that he thought the movie was “cool.”

The buzzy A24 title — bowing in competition at Venice — also stars Antonio Banderas, Banderas, Sophie Wilde and Esther McGregor.

“All of us carry a little black box filled with taboo fantasies that we might never share with anyone,” said Reijn in the press notes for “Babygirl.” “I am fascinated by the duality of human nature, and this film is an attempt to shine a light, without judgement, on the opposing forces that make up our personalities. To me, feminism is the freedom to study a woman’s vulnerability, love, shame, rage and inner beast.”

Kidman, an Oscar, BAFTA, two-time Emmy and six-time Golden Globe winner, has history with Venice. At the 2004 edition she starred in Jonathan Glazer’s unsettling psychological drama “Birth,” which sparked controversy — and boos at the festival — over a scene in which she shared a bath with her 10-year-old co-star Cameron Bright. At the Venice press conference she address the controversy by saying, “It wasn’t that I wanted to make a film where I kiss a 10-year-old boy. I wanted to make a film where you understand love.”

After Venice, “Babygirl” is due to have its North American premiere at the Toronto Film Festival before releasing in December.