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The Anti-Everywoman

Nicole Kidman has become a figure of aspiration, not relatability, which is precisely why her latest roles have been so fun.

Then Samuel steps up and summons the dog back in his direction with a show of easy dominance that ends with a caress and the praise “ Good girl.” The gesture hits Romy like a lightning bolt, but Kidman doesn’t act the way you’d expect for a character who has just been poleaxed by desire. Despite a high-drama setup involving an older woman, a massive celebrity, and a daughter who feels betrayed, Kidman never turns the dial up past seven, even when Zara walks in on an initial sexual encounter and shrieks in horror. Romy is attempting to create a more accessible and enlightened model of leadership, an approach that extends to her supportive marriage to theater director Jacob (Antonio Banderas), with whom she has two kids and a lot of face-to-face, eye-contact-heavy sex that does nothing for her.

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