Never doubt the power of a well-placed call from Nicole Kidman. During a recent appearance on the Reel Blend podcast, “Babygirl” filmmaker Halina Reijn shared a story about how her award-winning star helped secure the rights to a key soundtrack entry for their erotic thriller.
Reijn’s film is rife with cool, classic, and just plain interesting jams — looking at you, essential “Father Figure” dance break — but not every song was so easy to secure for the risky A24 feature. Such was the case with INXS’ “Never Tear Us Apart,” which plays over a montage sequence that sees Kidman’s Romy and Harris Dickinson’s Samuel er, cavort, in and around their glossy office space as they push the boundaries of their spicy romance.
“We put [the song] on the montage … I almost cried, my editor and I were screaming,” Reijn said while on the podcast. “Next day I call A24 and I’m like, ‘We need the rights to this song.’ [A24] tried it but it was a hard no [from INXS’ people]. I didn’t sleep for a week. I tried every other song but nothing worked. Then I called Nicole, I was like, ‘I’m so depressed.’ She was like, ‘Give me a couple of days.’ And she did it! She got the rights for us.” (You can watch the full Reel Blend interview right here.)
It’s a canny choice for the sequence, both sexy and playful, whimsical and a little wary. After all, “never tear us apart” might be a promise, a mantra, or a warning. Aside from the many hot moments within the montage, the sequence also shows off the emotional bond between Romy and Samuel, and the many risks they are taking while continuing their forbidden affair. As Reijn’s own screenplay tells us: “Never Tear Us Apart continues to play while we see Samuel and Romy’s connection deepen in the office and outside of it.” We’ll say!
You can also read our interviews with Reijn and Dickinson, who both get characteristically and understandably animated when talking about the more daring elements of the film, set to music or not.
“Babygirl” is now in theaters from A24.
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