Nicole Kidman scorches in shocking intern sex drama Babygirl

Running time: 114 minutes.Not yet rated.

In theaters Dec.25.Hooking up with the boss, and the inevitable trouble it causes, is a mainstay of entertainment, from “Bridget Jones’ Diary” to “Grey’s Anatomy.” But rarely is that workplace taboo as scintillating as it is in “Babygirl,” a captivating psychological drama starring Nicole Kidman that had its North American premiere Tuesday at the Toronto International Film Festival.It’s hard to imagine audiences being more glued to another movie this year, so sexy and stirring the story is from start to finish.Where the steamy flick, written and directed by Halina Reijn, diverges from the usual C-suite game of cat and mouse is that, this time, the claws belong to the much younger male intern.He’s Samuel, played by 28-year-old Harris Dickinson, the actor who was a dish as a vacuous model in “Triangle of Sadness.” Assertive and alluring, he goes to work for a Manhattan robotics company lorded over by Romy, played by 57-year-old Nicole Kidman. I’m no mathematician, but…Romy, constantly emailing, has a doting theater director husband named Jacob (Antonio Banderas), who, unbeknownst to him, can’t please her in the bedroom.

After their perfunctory evening activities, she scurries off to watch porn in secret.Back at the office, go-getter Samuel — go-get-her, really — brazenly requests that the company CEO be his mentor in the internship program, which means one private 10-minute meeting a week.At the first sit-down, which she reluctantly attends, he grabs control immediately.“You shouldn’t drink coffee after lunch,” he sternly and softly instructs his employer like a parent.“How many did you have today?”“Seven,” she replies.The topic, ahem, does not stay on beverages for very long.That explosive encounter begins an affair with no traditional romance or affection.

Samuel and Romy don’t laugh, skip in the field or grab candlelight dinners.They’re in it for the sex, yes, but rea...