Intimacy (2001 film)

Intimacy

Company type	Film
Industry	Motion picture
Founded	2001
Founder	Patrice Chéreau, Anne-Louise Trividic, Hanif Kureishi (story)
Area served	France, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy
Products	Erotic drama film

Intimacy is a 2001 erotic drama helmed by Patrice Chéreau, who co-wrote the screenplay with Anne-Louise Trividic. The narrative draws from stories by Hanif Kureishi, who also authored a novel sharing the same title. Featuring performances by Kerry Fox and Mark Rylance, this film represents a multinational collaboration among France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy. Its soundtrack prominently includes pop tracks from the 1970s and 1980s. A notable aspect of Intimacy is the inclusion of an unsimulated fellatio scene involving Fox and Rylance. For French audiences, a dubbed version employs voice actors Jean-Hugues Anglade and Nathalie Richard.

The film is often associated with the New French Extremity movement within cinema. It achieved global box office earnings totaling $2.7 million.

Plot

Jay, a bartender who has separated from his family after his wife lost interest in their marriage, resides alone in a dilapidated house in London. Every Wednesday, he engages in passionate sexual encounters with a woman whose name remains unknown to him; what begins as a physical liaison gradually develops into an emotional bond.

At work, Jay feels overlooked when his employer hires a junior barman named Ian without consulting him, though he eventually takes Ian under his wing. Driven by curiosity about the woman, Jay tails her to a suburban neighborhood and uncovers her identity as Claire—an actress married to Andy, a black cab driver, with whom she has a son named Leo. Jay forms friendships with both Andy and Leo while Claire remains unaware of his connection to her family.

Jay’s friend Victor unexpectedly stays at his place but is asked to leave before Claire arrives one Wednesday; however, Claire fails to appear that evening. Subsequently, Jay and Ian assist Victor in escaping drug addiction at a squat. Victor confronts Jay about his perceived callousness and urges him to pursue intimacy with another woman, but Jay departs abruptly.

Confiding in Andy about his broken marriage and affair, Jay is later introduced to Claire by Andy following one of her theatrical performances. During this meeting, Andy reveals knowledge of the affair, leading to an argument between him and Claire—Andy professes indifference toward the infidelity but criticizes Claire’s acting career, while she insists she will not abandon him.

Andy visits Jay’s bar and subtly signals his awareness of the affair. The following Wednesday, during a house clearing involving Ian and Victor, Claire arrives at Jay’s home. She informs him that she will neither leave her family nor continue their relationship. After one final sexual encounter, she departs without looking back.

Cast

• Kerry Fox as Claire
• Mark Rylance as Jay
• Susannah Harker as Susan, Jay's wife
• Alastair Galbraith as Victor
• Philippe Calvario as Ian
• Timothy Spall as Andy, Claire's husband
• Marianne Faithfull as Betty
• Fraser Ayres as Dave
• Michael Fitzgerald as bar owner
• Robert Addie as bar owner
• Rebecca Palmer as Pam, girl in squat

Reception

Intimacy was ranked number 91 on Slant Magazine's list of the best films of the 2000s.

Alexander Linklater of The Guardian addressed his personal feelings of jealousy regarding Kerry Fox’s participation in real sexual acts but accepted the unsimulated oral sex scene while describing intercourse scenes as simulated. Critics praised the film’s realistic portrayal; Linda Williams highlighted its explicit opening sequence, whereas Tanya Krzywinska underscored the unambiguous depiction of penetration.

In a 2015 interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mark Rylance reflected on the anxiety caused by tabloid scrutiny over the unsimulated sex scenes at the time of release. He expressed regret about succumbing to pressure from director Patrice Chéreau and lacking the confidence to decline involvement then, noting that actors branded as difficult often demonstrate sound judgment.

Awards

At the 2001 Berlin Film Festival, Intimacy received the prestigious Golden Bear for Best Film along with the Silver Bear for Best Actress awarded to Kerry Fox.

See also

• Unsimulated sex

Further reading

• Frey, Mattias. (2016) Extreme Cinema: The Transgressive Rhetoric of Today’s Art Film Culture. London: Rutgers University Press.
• Krzywinska, Tanya. (2006) Sex and the Cinema. London: Wallflower.
• Palmer, Tim. (2011) Brutal Intimacy: Analyzing Contemporary French Cinema. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press.
• Williams, Linda. (2007) ‘Hard-Core Art Film: The Contemporary Realm of the Senses’, Quaderns portàtils, (13), pp. 1–20.