Intimacy (2001)
Directed by Patrice Chéreau
Failed musician Jay abandoned his family and now earns a living as head bartender in a trendy London pub. Every Wednesday afternoon, a woman comes to his house for graphic, almost wordless, sex. One day, Jay follows her and learns about her. This eventually disrupts their relationship.
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15 films that influenced Intimacy
What critics say influenced Intimacy
Often compared with the controversial films Last Tango in Paris (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1972) and In the Realm of the Senses (Nagisa Oshima, 1976) for its graphic depiction of sexuality, Patrice Chereau's Intimacy (2001) continues in a similar, notorious vein of provocative contemporary cinema, most notably in the perturbative films of Catherine Breillat, that seeks to demystify the conventional, often romanticized presentation of sexuality and capture the stark realism, awkwardness, and imperfection of the act of physical intimacy.
This bleak reflection on the meaning of human intimacy and romantic relationships recalls both "Last Tango in Paris," although here the central relationship touches more than the people engaged in it and "An Affair of Love," although that film's melancholy is replaced with something deeper and darker here.
As a sort of retelling of Last Tango in Paris, the film is a fairly fascinating study of Jay (Mark Rylance), a bartender, and his weekly trick an actress named Claire (Kerry Fox).
Not since Last Tango in Paris has a film so ravishingly explored the many fine connections between desire, physical intimacy, and romance.
Often compared with the controversial films Last Tango in Paris (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1972) and In the Realm of the Senses (Nagisa Oshima, 1976) for its graphic depiction of sexuality, Patrice Chereau's Intimacy (2001) continues in a similar, notorious vein of provocative contemporary cinema, most notably in the perturbative films of Catherine Breillat, that seeks to demystify the conventional, often romanticized presentation of sexuality and capture the stark realism, awkwardness, and imperfection of the act of physical intimacy.
This time around, Chereau is not pulling from French history but two stories: "Intimacy" and "Night Light" by Hanif Kureishi, the gifted writer of "My Beautiful Laundrette," "Sammy and Rosie Get Laid" and "My Son the Fanatic."
Based on the novel "Intimacy" and the story "Nightlight," by Hanif Kureishi the Pakistani-British writer best known for his screenplay "My Beautiful Laundrette" this is a surprisingly moving film.
Based on stories by Hanif Kureishi ("My Beautiful Laundrette," "Sammy and Rosie Get Laid") and directed by Frenchman Patrice Ch�reau ("Queen Margot"; this is his first English-language film), "Intimacy" is an earnest but ultimately pretentious production.
Adapted by Chereau and Anne-Louise Tridivic from "Intimacy" and "Night Light" by "My Beautiful Laundrette" writer Hanif Kureishi, it stars Mark Rylance and Kerry Fox as lovers who know nothing about each other but meet weekly for searing sexual encounters.
However, unlike the themes of sexual exploration and individual empowerment that is pervasive in Breillat's films, Intimacy finds greater commonality with the profoundly desperate and marginalized protagonists of Mike Leigh's equally eviscerating and aptly titled film, Naked (1993), and the Bruno Dumont films, The Life of Jesus (1997) and L'Humanité (1999), where attraction and human desire become inextricably bound to the characters' misguided search for identity, validation, and sense of purpose in an aimless and oppressive existence.
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However, unlike the themes of sexual exploration and individual empowerment that is pervasive in Breillat's films, Intimacy finds greater commonality with the profoundly desperate and marginalized protagonists of Mike Leigh's equally eviscerating and aptly titled film, Naked (1993), and the Bruno Dumont films, The Life of Jesus (1997) and L'Humanité (1999), where attraction and human desire become inextricably bound to the characters' misguided search for identity, validation, and sense of purpose in an aimless and oppressive existence.
She's an actress in a dingy production of Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie and her husband Andy (Timothy Spall) drinks and plays pool at the bar that hosts the play.
There is nothing erotic about the film's explicit carnality (a laudable instinct that reminded me a great deal of Lizzie Borden's exceptional Working Girls), but neither is very much insight provided into the cool irony of the film's title: the ways in which frustrated people try and fail to connect with one another.
Audiences may best remember Spall as the quiet, decent family man in "Secrets & Lies" or the foolish gourmet in "Life Is Sweet," but he's also good in loud, disruptive roles.
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Jay initially seems to be rather callous about these meetings, even bragging to his coworker at the bar about the exploits, setting up an incorrect audience expectation that we�re watching a grittier version of the Tom Cruise vehicle Cocktail, but with more cock and tail.
Audiences may best remember Spall as the quiet, decent family man in "Secrets & Lies" or the foolish gourmet in "Life Is Sweet," but he's also good in loud, disruptive roles.