Babygirl (Macdara Vallely, 2012): USA/Ireland

Lena

Reviewed by Jian Gedrick at Metro 4 Theater, Santa Babara CA

It’s stressful enough having to live with a parent who is in a relationship with an awful partner, especially when their partner is more attracted to you. “Babygirl” tells the story of the hardships a young teenage girl faces living with a mother who begins to be in an unstable relationship with a young man. The young teenager is Lena (Yainis Ynoa) a sixteen-year-old Puero Rican girl living in Brooklyn, New York with her single mother Lucy (Rosa Arredondo)  and baby half-brother.

Lucy’s numerous unsuccessful relationships with men has made Lena to take up certain responsibilities such as working as a checker at a grocery store, or taking care of her baby sibling while downtown with her friend. It seems her mother’s poor choices in men have also influenced her views of boys as she shrugs off the popular boy Xavier (JoshuaRivera) who is into her, and actually is a charming boy.

Lucy and Lena

While on the bus with her mom Lena begins to notice a young man quietly hitting on her. When she ignores him, his attention turns toward Lucy who becomes instantly smitten. Lena and the audience all know that this is yet another mistake for Lucy. Unbeknownst to Lucy the young man Victor (Flaco Navaja) is more attracted to Lena. Aware of this and unable to live with her mom and see her go through another unhealthy relationship, Lena makes a deal with Victor: She’ll go on one private date with him, if he breaks up with her mom. The plan backfires when her mother and friends find out and turn against her.

Lena is a young lady already skeptical of being with men, and having her being hit on by Victor who is a decade older than her makes her come more to terms with that skepticism. While Victor’s motives are highly inappropriate he isn’t a pedophile, rather someone who is attracted to a post-pubescent young lady who is only two years from being considered an adult. While he comes off very creepy in the beginning his intentions aren’t completely  evil. He confesses to Lena that after the date his attraction has evolved into sincere feelings for her. Lena, frustrated with the whole situation tells her mother everything in one last desperate attempt to get her to leave Victor, subsequently she breaks up with Victor and kicks Lena out of the house.

Just like Lucy’s relationships, Lena’s complex feelings of men are the center of the whole movie. There are moments where her actions are questionable, and it seems she is confused with how she really feels. Such as when she goes on the private date with Victor finds herself actually enjoying the date then reminds herself of why she’s there. When she leaves Victor at the restaurant he chases after her and gives her a surprise kiss to which she welcomes for a few seconds then pulls away in dismay and leaves him. In a scene with the Xavier when Lena realizes she likes him, he suddenly reveals to her that her friend says the “whole innocent persona is just an act and she likes to play with people’s emotions” without defending herself she just replies “maybe it’s true”.

While things begin to fall apart for Lena towards the end, “Babygirl” never makes the moments too traumatic. Victor never really gets abusive towards Lucy or Lena and shows concern for Lena’s safety. When he tries to prevent her by holding her arm she responds, “you’re hurting me” to which he reluctantly lets her go and watches her head out in the city. She ends up being on her own for one night, miraculously unharmed, before rekindling with her mother. Overall the film ends on a happy note with Lucy promising Lena that she will change her delusional attachment with flawed men, and Lena reconnecting and being more comfortable around Xavier.

“Babygirl” isn’t a film that delivers any real message. It’s a film that merely tells the story of a young girl caught in a very awkward relationship with her mom and her mom’s new boyfriend, layered with Puerto Rican American customs and the New York life. You either like it or you don’t, and I didn’t.