Let your beast show

a hot conversation with the director of Babygirl about partners who *get* animals

If you felt provoked at all by Miranda July’s All Fours, you should see Babygirl.

I also find myself telling friends: if you do go see it, go by yourself. I liked having some privacy as I took it in.

You’ve probably seen the buzz and cultural chatter about Babygirl. The film is about a married, middle-aged wife and mother named Romy, played by Nicole Kidman. Life is going her way – she’s got a high-powered executive job, loving and close relationships with two daughters, and a sweet, attentive husband. But their sex life is kinda phoned in.

Then, Romy encounters a young intern at her company. Pretty soon, it’s like this:

A24/Niko Tavernise

The first time she encounters the intern, it’s not in the office. They’re on a busy Manhattan street, and an out-of-control dog has gone into full attack mode. In sweeps the intern! This is not his dog, but he quickly intervenes to grab and then coolly soothe the animal.

In this week’s episode, I talked to Babygirl screenwriter and director Halina Reijn about that opening scene:

HALINA: I was looking for a way into it where I'm introducing the male character, the love interest in a fairy tale kind of way. Because I wanted the whole movie to be wrapped up in that one scene with him. That one beat. And so then I thought it has to be something with a beast. Because the whole movie talks about how she is suppressing her beast. And that is why she's going into these dangerous adventures. It's a cautionary tale of what will happen when you suppress your beast. So how do we introduce him? Yeah, he, he should be able to tame a beast and when she witnesses that, she kind of knows, right?…

ANNA: The idea of, someone who can be in relationship with an animal, like a dog, and both, um, be firm and commanding while also coming back around to care. I thought, oh my God, that is the hottest Daddy quality! And you know, my husband is a falconer and good with dogs…

HALINA: Oh my god,

ANNA: And I’m like, this is what happened!

HALINA: That's too much. Oh my, so hot. Um, it's so funny that you mention this because a lot of women have asked me also, is there more footage of him with the dog? Haha.

You can listen to our conversation here. Halina and I also discuss Babygirl’s infamous milk scene, her choice to step away from a successful theater career to make her own projects, and going off Botox…then back on. We have a wide-ranging conversation about desire, womanhood, and the clumsiness of wanting to please while figuring out how to be pleased. 

And speaking of people who can be both firm and tender, I offer you these pictures of my husband Arthur:

See? Animal dudes are hot!

Listen to my conversation with Babygirl filmmaker Halina Reijn here. It’s a sparky and fun listen.

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What Happened After Girls Went Wild

In Death, Sex & Money’s Slate Plus feed this week, I talk to my Slate colleague Scaachi Kohl about her reporting on the Girls Gone Wild porn franchise and its legacy 20-odd years after its commercials dominated late-night cable.

Peacock TV

Scaachi interviewed women who were filmed as young women about the staying power of those images. She also traveled to GGW founder Joe Francis’ compound in Mexico to interview him. A new docuseries on Peacock, Girls Gone Wild: The Untold Story, draws on her reporting. (Scaachi is a co-executive producer.) We talk about that work, how Girls Gone Wild shaped our own socialization, and how women let loose. 

Listen to that conversation here — including at the end, where we switch over to analyze the merits of our agreeable workplace and why it leaves Scaachi itching for more of a fight in the office kitchenette.

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Tasha Adams’ Ex-Husband is Pardoned and Out of Prison

It was just about two years ago that I traveled to a small town in Montana in February to interview Tasha Adams, the then-estranged wife of Oathkeepers leader Stewart Rhodes. Shortly before that episode came out, Tasha’s divorce was finalized, and Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy.

Now Rhodes is out of prison, the result of President Trump’s pardons of those involved in the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Hear the 2023 episode about Tasha that we produced with On the Media’s Micah Loewinger. Tasha told us about her relationship with Rhodes and described years of harmful control and abuse.

Tasha also told us about the friendship she struck up with Alex Jones’ ex-wife. Micah and I also talked with them together about what they recognized in each other’s experiences. Listen here.

If you heard our episode with Tasha, and you’d like to send her a note after this sudden change in her reality, reply to this email and I’ll pass it on to her.

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Finally, there are still a **few tickets** left for our live show in San Francisco on January 31. It’s going to be fun! Get yours here.

Until next week,

Anna

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Listen to our latest Death, Sex & Money episodes

1/21 Babygirl Director Wants Women Not to Suppress Their Beast (Apple|Spotify|Slate)

1/21 Plus: What Was ‘Girls Gone Wild’ Really For? (Apple|Spotify|Slate)

1/14 Paid to Care: When Class, Power, and Caregiving Collide (Apple|Spotify|Slate)

1/14 Plus: More Estrangement Confessions (Apple|Spotify|Slate)

1/7 Paid to Care: The Magic, and Mess, of Care Work. (Apple|Spotify|Slate)

12/31 Love Actually: Real Romance From Mahershala Ali, Jane Fonda, and More (Apple|Spotify|Slate)

12/24 Should You Divulge a Disability in Your Dating Profile? (Apple|Spotify|Slate)

12/24 Plus: The Best Karaoke Songs for This Moment (Apple|Spotify|Slate)

12/17 Chaz Ebert on Loss, Intuition and Her ‘Cougar’ Group Chat (Apple|Spotify|Slate)

12/17 Plus: Our Favorite Cultural Artifacts of 2024 (Apple|Spotify|Slate)

12/10 Betting on America: Two Gamblers, One Presidential Election (Apple|Spotify|Slate)