Nicole Kidman sizzles in shocking intern sex drama ‘Babygirl’

Making out with the boss and the inevitable trouble it causes is a mainstay of entertainment, from “Bridget Jones’s Diary” to “Grey’s Anatomy.”

But rarely is a taboo topic in the workplace as brilliant 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 that audiences will be glued to any other movie this year, the story is so sexy and provocative from beginning to end.

While the steamy flick, written and directed by Halina Reason, is a departure from the usual C-suite game of cat and mouse, this time, the claws belong to a much younger male intern.

He is Samuel, played by 28-year-old Harris Dickinson, the actor who had a dish as a blank model in the “Triangle of Sadness.” Determined and charming, he goes to work for a Manhattan robotics company, owned by Romy, played by 57-year-old Nicole Kidman.

I am no mathematician, but…

Romy, who emails constantly, has a kindly theater director husband named Jacob (Antonio Banderas), who cannot please her in the bedroom, without telling her. After their evening’s recreational activities, she sneaks off to watch porn.

Back at the office, go-getter Samuel – go-to-him, really – shamelessly requests that the company’s CEO be his advisor in the internship program, which means a 10-minute private meeting a week.

At the first meeting, which she reluctantly attends, he immediately takes control.

“You must not drink coffee after lunch,” he instructs his employer, sternly and softly, like a parent. “How many did you have today?”

“Seven,” she replies.

Ahem, this topic doesn’t last long on beverages.

That explosive encounter begins an affair that has no traditional romance or affection. Samuel and Romy don’t laugh, go out into the fields or have candlelight dinners. They’re in it for the sex, yes, but really the attraction of the dirty couple is about power dynamics.

For example, before their affair really escalated, Samuel anonymously sent Romy a glass of milk at a time. He stares at her while she swallows it all. Then, he passes by and whispers, “Good girl.”

Romi, a corporate titan back in the day, soon discovers that she’d rather be a subservient when the sun goes down. I believe this is true of a lot of powerful people. The perceptive Samuel senses this latent desire and pounces.

Kidman and Dickinson, age difference be damned, are vinegar and baking soda.

Together they smolder with an unspoken awareness of the dangerous path their characters are walking. Their chemistry is the kind that doesn’t need to be developed onscreen – it’s there from the moment Romy and Samuel meet.

British Dickinson, who I almost dismissed when he played the prince in the terrible “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” opposite Angelina Jolie, has carved out a niche in cool, charming projects that are that rare combination of popular and iconic. Her performance here, scary and siren-like, is a blast.

And Kidman is a natural fit for Romy, who starts off reasonable and stoic and then goes wild – showing up, unannounced, drenched in the rain at Samuel’s bartending job and dancing at a club.

Reason, who has another great winner after “Bodies Bodies Bodies,” doesn’t decide whether or not we should be happy for Romy, or whether what the executive is doing is redemptive or reckless.

Once the film is released widely, I could see it becoming a controversial subject of rebuke. By most modern metrics, the relationship here is like textbook #MeToo. Malleable, cancelable, black and white.

However, “Babygirl” suggests there is a gray area. The film seems to say that power comes in many forms, but it doesn’t always come with a corner office.