Babygirl director Halina Reijn has opened up about the real-life inspiration behind the steamy milk scene in her latest erotic thriller. As the mind behind the satirical slasher Bodies Bodies Bodies, Reijn’s newest film explores themes of dominance, repression, and awakening through the eyes of Romy (Nicole Kidman), a high-powered CEO who embarks on a risky affair with her younger intern, Samuel (Harris Dickinson). The Babygirl cast also features Antonio Banderas and Sophie Wilde, who support Kidman in an exploration of Romy's journey towards self-actualization.
In an interview with IndieWire, Reijn opens up about a personal encounter in Belgium that informed one of Babygirl's most intimate yet provocative scenes. During a company holiday party at a dimly lit Manhattan bar, Romy catches the gaze of the enigmatic Samuel, who sends a waiter to deliver her a tall glass of milk. She wordlessly accepts the strange proposition and drinks the whole glass. As Samuel leaves the bar, he leans in just enough to whisper, “Good girl.” Thus begins their plunge into a psychological power play between the CEO's submission and her intern's dominance. Here's what the director had to say:
The milk is, of course, an archetype. We’ve seen it in other movies. It is a great symbol of animalistic sides of ourselves. It happened to me. I was playing in Belgium onstage, and I got offstage, and I had a really good run, and I was like, ‘Oh my god!’ I felt really good about myself for one night in my life. All my colleagues were like, ‘No, we’re going to bed.’ They’re all boring. I was all alone.
I went to a bar, and I ordered something boring like a Diet Coke because I didn’t drink at that time because I was a control freak. There was this young Belgian actor — I can’t say who it is — but he was famous. I knew of him. I’d never spoken to him. He was at least 15 years younger than I, and he ordered me a glass of milk.
I thought it was an incredible, hot thing to do, and so courageous, and so I wanted to reward him by drinking the whole thing, and I did. It did make me a little nauseated, to be honest with you, because it was cow milk. It was back in the day.
While the young Belgian actor didn't lean in to use a seductive term of endearment before swaggering out of the bar, Reijn discovered an appreciation for the psychological and emotional dimensions of intimacy as something rooted in the mind rather than the body:
I wish he did. He just walked out. I didn’t have sex with him or anything. But when I was writing, I did think that was one of the most arousing moments of my life. There wasn’t even touching. That is what fascinates me about sex. To me, real, shocking sex is often not at all two bodies banging into each other. To me, real, shocking sex is about what is in the mind. It’s all suggestion. It’s all imagination. [Romy] crawling around on a dirty carpet with stains and licking a little bit of candy out of his hand, and him petting her like she’s an animal — that, to me, is really sexy. Real sex acts to me onscreen are quite boring, which is why we only have two short moments of that.
What The Milk Scene In Babygirl Means
A Full Glass Of Erotic Minimalism
Reijn's reflection on the milk scene highlights how Babygirl prioritizes psychological tension over overt physicality in its portrayal of eroticism. The director opts for restraint, using close-ups of Kidman’s face to convey the intensity of most sex scenes, rather than relying on nudity. In a majority of the erotic thrillers' most tantalizing scenes, Romy and Samuel are fully clothed. She eats candy out of his hand and picks up broken china pieces on her knees, all the while in muted gray or blue corporate wear.
After watching Nicole Kidman's impressive performance in Babygirl, any of these 10 films would make for a good follow up.
Samuel's tall glass of milk for Romy, as Reijn describes it, acts as an "archetype." Their first interaction at the bar reveals the intricate dynamics of Samuel and Romy's relationship, complicated further by their age-gap and the professional boundaries they cross. The act thus carries layered meaning: milk, often associated with innocence and purity, takes on a transgressive edge as it is used in an unspoken exchange of their desires.
This choice reflects a broader trend in contemporary cinema where directors eschew traditional sex scenes for moments that focus on tension, vulnerability, and character exploration, such as Luca Guadagnino's erotic sports drama Challengers (2024) and Paul Thomas Anderson's Phantom Thread (2017). The milk scene becomes a narrative fulcrum for Romy’s transformation as a symbol of her surrender to desires she has long suppressed as a mother, wife, and boss.
Our Take On Babygirl’s Milk Scene
Reijn Pushes Boundaries Through The Power Of Suggestion
Reijn’s approach to eroticism in Babygirl is both daring and refreshing. The film's ability to transform a simple glass of milk into a subtle dance of seduction is proof of Reign's skill as a storyteller. Kidman's performance is the perfect vehicle for Romy’s awakening as she captures both the fragility and ferocity of a woman reclaiming her identity through a precarious yet irresistible affair.
In an industry increasingly exploring the interplay of power, age, and gender, Babygirl not only adds to the conversation but redefines how desire can be portrayed onscreen. Reijn’s story of a glass of milk turning into one of her life’s most arousing moments shows that sometimes, the most unexpected symbols hold the greatest power.
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