kikoshaus
This movie is not good at all. Apart from the explicit sex scenes, which seemed to be the first ones to be screened in the UK, I do not see what's new about this movie.A man and a woman sharing their bodies for pleasure only. Sex-based communication and that's it. So, what else?Kerry's acting is fine enough though. A couple of scenes in foggy weather are interesting to watch. However, the man getting obsessed about her without being able to ask her a thing instead... it's just pathetic.If a movie needed to show explicit sex scenes without being in the category of "pornographic film" in the UK, then I don't get it why to write such a very simple plot with anything extraordinary in this. I think it's just a waste of time watching this film!
Imdbidia
Intimacy is a European co-production directed by French director Patrice Chereau in his first English speaking feature, also set in the UK. The script is based on two pieces by writer Hanif Kureishi: the book "Intimacy", and the short story "Nightime".Intimacy tells the story of Andy, a divorcée bartender who meets Claire at his apartment on Wednesday to have sex, no words involved... until they start to click emotionally and Andy starts following her to know more about her.Intimacy is a soaring and raw movie about mid life disenchantment, and the need of physical contact to built emotional one.The film has been controversial due to the presence of explicit sexual scenes. However, reducing such a good film and story, to just the sex scenes is intentionally misleading, moralistic, and completely unfair to a story that presents many of the problems of middle-agers in a honest and raw way: abandonment, divorce, loneliness, the feeling of being lost and emotional empty, the sense of not going anywhere in life, the trouble to fulfill your responsibilities as an adult despite being all messed up in your head and soul, fracas and rejection, unhappiness and hope. All of this is beautifully blended and portrayed in the film.The sex scenes are very strong, very demanding both physically and emotionally, simulated most of them, but very convincing as they really and feel very real. The viewer gets the impression that is watching a real couple having sex. The sex is always raw, and goes from almost brutal to sweet, from hungry to delightful, from anxious to comforting, with all the body language and emotions associated to different emotional states. Being so, the viewer does not feel aroused by the images, but sad and anxious about the couple being so needy of contact, and so unable to contact. The sex, in that sense, is a proof of the soul and feelings of the characters, not a dirty thing. In that regards, the film creates a clear line between what sex is not, and sets a clear boundary with porn, despite the fellatio in the film being non simulated, which is portrayed as a sweet moment of sharing and not a as woman mechanically sucking a man off for his own pleasure and as a sexual slave.The mood of the movie is great, with a mix of night and interior greenish/yellowish depressing scenes and warm and luminous ones. The art direction is great, as well as the music.The performances by all actors are terrific, convincing, powerful, and masterful, especially the leading couple Mark Rylance as Jay and Kerry Fox as Claire, in two roles that are extremely demanding both at a physical and emotional level. The supporting actors are also good and convincing: Alastair Galbraith as Claire's husband Victor, Philippe Calvario as the gay bartender Ian, Timothy Spall as Jay's drug addict brother Andy, and Marianne Faithful as Claire's friend Betty, among others. Although Galbraith is always terrific, I don't think he was the right person, physically, for his character, as it is difficult to believe that Claire would be with this sort of guy, to be honest.A very sad movie, not easy to watch, with confronting images and themes, moving at times, with a very powerful story, wonderfully performed and directed. Abstain from viewing if you are a puritan, as you will only see the sex.
