NOW PLAYING is HR Dive Reporter Caroline Colvin’s column at the intersection of HR and entertainment.
Since starting my job as an HR Dive reporter back in 2021, two unexpected things keep happening to me.
- Whenever I introduce myself, people gloss over the “reporter” part and think I work in HR.
- I become a killjoy at the movies.
By now, my close friends are used to watching media with me and hearing me ask, “So where is HR?” But a fresh batch of friends got an earful after seeing the much-discussed, buzzy A24 film “Babygirl.”
Picture it: Nicole Kidman has girlbossed her way to the top. She has a gorgeous husband, played by Antonio Banderas, and bright, ambitious kids. Through a series of chance encounters, she ends up participating in an affair with an intern, played by rising star Harris Dickinson.
Director Halina Reijn frames the not-so-meet-cute between Romy, Kidman’s character, and Samuel, Dickinson’s character, as a “chance encounter.” But maybe that robs Romy of accountability. Not only is cheating a choice, but so is breaking the unspoken rule of sleeping with a co-worker — let alone a subordinate.
I’m sorry, but as an HR reporter whose day is filled with anecdotes, data and lawsuits about hostile workplaces, I find it hard to take “Babygirl” at face value.
Workplace romances, while taboo, remain popular
Following a Christmas release, the arguably independent film grossed $50 million at the global box office by late January. Even now, in February, A24’s Instagram posts about “Babygirl” garner hundreds of comments, and tens of thousands of likes.
Outside of the “Babygirl” sphere, shows like “The Office,” “Abbott Elementary,” and every procedural or hospital show tantalize viewers with long, drawn-out, smoldering will-they-won’t-they romances.
Life imitates art — or does art imitate life? In career website Zety’s 2025 Modern Workplace Romance Report, 79% of survey-takers admitted to having a long-term workplace romance — and 15% said they’ve had more than one. Given the data, it should come as no surprise that subreddits like r/Flirting are constantly updated with people trying to decode whether their co-workers are dropping hints — a delicate dance made more delicate in a post-Times Up world, according to lots of men.
A cursory Google search shows several threads in other subreddits and on Quora lamenting this shift in culture. One researcher even published a book, “Men After #MeToo – Being an Ally in the Fight Against Sexual Harassment,” that investigates young men’s view of gender dynamics after the widespread harassment reckoning.
A question of power dynamics
No matter how nervous people feel about modern-day gender dynamics and flirting with co-workers, the fantasy of the colleague crush clearly prevails.
So I can see the appeal of a film like “Babygirl.” Notably, 41% of respondents in Zety’s report said their most recent workplace romance was with a manager or supervisor.
But my HR reporter brain can’t help but notice that the real-life consequences of an affair like this are minimized in favor of raunch.
Yes, “Babygirl” touches on the aftermath of infidelity between Romy and her husband. But there is little collateral damage. We get a glimpse of how the rumor mill starts to rumble once Samuel and Romy part ways. But the corporate firestorm in the wake of such a scandal, which I normally observe as a labor reporter, is missing.
Romy is able to cuss out a different male subordinate for his implication and keep it pushing.
I find “Babygirl” lacking in realism here — especially as someone who often watches white-collar crime documentaries, which explore themes like misuse of authority and coercion of direct reports.
And apparently, a hookup between an individual and their supervisor is more gauche in the realm of workplace romance: Only 18% of Zety’s respondents said they believe one-night stands are acceptable, compared to the 54% who said they prefer a real, long-term romance.
But the consequences of one’s unhinged and selfish actions aren’t sexy at all, I imagine.
What ‘Babygirl’ gets right, cinematically
I also can’t deny a cleverness in how the film ruffles feathers. Inside the bedroom and outside of it, the younger person ends up wielding more power. At one point, Samuel blackmails Romy, saying that disclosure of the affair could tank her career.
Romy is ultimately in control (on paper) as CEO, but Reijn creates a provocative contradiction. Even when a woman is in the C-suite, of all places, a junior male colleague is inclined to leverage gendered dynamics to get what he wants.
In those moments, something that feels playfully deviant turns into something insidious and uncomfortable — and that’s the truest part of this film for me.
Check out Colvin’s previous NOW PLAYING column, about HR lessons learned from the Grammys.
