- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Toddler crushed to death in migrant Channel crossing
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
Erotic thriller at Venice sees Nicole Kidman 'exposed'
Nicole Kidman said she felt "exposed and vulnerable" as erotic thriller "Babygirl" premiered at the Venice Film Festival Thursday, with the veteran actress pushing herself far from her comfort zone.
Kidman plays Romy, a high-powered New York CEO who embarks on a torrid, sado-masochistic affair with a new company intern, played by Harris Dickinson, risking her marriage to her husband (Antonio Banderas) and family life.
"This definitely leaves me exposed and vulnerable and frightened and all of those things when it's given to the world, but making it with these people here, it was delicate and intimate and very, very deep," Kidman told a press conference ahead of the premiere.
"Right now we're all a bit nervous."
One of 21 films in the main competition for the Golden Lion prize, "Babygirl" is the third film for Dutch director Halina Reijn, who also wrote the script.
The study of one woman's sexual desire, it also explores power relationships -- and turns some of them on their head in surprising ways.
The film manages to subvert the seemingly dated erotic genre, whose heyday in the 1980s and 90s produced films such as "Fatal Attraction", "Basic Instinct" and "9 1/2 Weeks".
"I'm very delighted to be able to make a film about female desire but it's also a film about a woman in an existential crisis and it has many layers," said Reijn.
That was the interest for Kidman, who in 1999 delved into the genre with her then-husband Tom Cruise in Stanley Kubrick's final film, "Eyes Wide Shut," similarly an in-depth look at sexuality and the human psyche.
"I want to examine human beings," Kidman said Friday.
"I want to examine women onscreen, I want to examine what it means to be human and in all facets of that and the labyrinth of that," she said.
Last year's Golden Lion award went to a film unabashedly exploring themes of self-identity and sexuality -- "Poor Creatures" from Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos.
In that feminist reworking of "Frankenstein," actress Emma Stone shattered the norms of Hollywood modesty in her portrayal of Bella, a sexually voracious reanimated corpse who lives unabashedly for pleasure.
- Changing ratios -
Kidman said "Babygirl" also fit her agenda to "put my weight behind a lot of women now in terms of directors, to try to change the ratio".
The gap between men and women directors in film festivals has narrowed in recent years amid more attention to gender parity, but women directors are still underrepresented.
This year, Reijn is one of seven women directors in the main competition of 21 films.
Having a woman at the helm of "Babygirl" was essential, said Kidman, 57.
"It's told by a woman through her gaze... that's to me what made it so unique because suddenly I was going to be in the hands of a woman with this material and it was very, very deep to be able to share those things and very freeing," Kidman said.
She acknowledged that she didn't worry too much about nudity.
"I will just completely abandon (myself) to the story, to the nature of the character I'm playing, so I don't think about bodies per se, I just think about how do we tell the story," Kidman said.
Ultimately, Reijn said the film is about the question: "Can I love myself in all my different layers?"
"And I hope it will function as a tribute to self-love and liberation."
Y.Aukaiv--AMWN