In reviews, in theaters and in group texts pinging across the country, “Babygirl,” the erotic thriller starring Nicole Kidman, has proved somewhat divisive. Who has the power, Romy, the high-powered tech executive played by Ms. Kidman, or the 20-something intern, to whom she willingly submits? Are certain moments supposed to be sexy or funny? Is Romy’s kink — which involves being told what to do — even that kinky?

Audiences are far from agreement, but among some women — particularly those around Ms. Kidman’s age, 57 — these questions have been more than enough to begin titillating conversations about sex and desire.

“After the movie, some of the men were asking me if women really fake orgasms,’” said Elizabeth Robbins, 51, who watched the film with a mix of friends both male and female. In the movie’s opening scene, Romy dashes away to masturbate privately after faking an orgasm with her husband, whom she later cheats on as she explores an urge to be dominated.

“It was like, ‘Yeah, we do.’”

She said the group started asking themselves if they talk about their desires enough or if they talk about sex in a healthy way. When Ms. Robbins, an ophthalmic assistant in Boston, discussed this with two of her other friends — Elizabeth Pavese, 37, and Josephine Sasso, 47, with whom she hosts a podcast about erotic novels called the Lusty Library Podcast — the women said they’d had similar conversations with their circles after seeing the film.

“I went to see it with a friend last night, and the whole time we were whispering to each other,” said Ms. Pavese, who lives in Pawtucket, R.I. “We ended up having some conversations in the car home and learning a few things about each other that we didn’t know. It was pretty explicit.”

“It was like, ‘OK, we are at this level now,’” she said. “We were already fairly open with each other, but it does take a little bit of prodding.”