''Intimacy'' is a 2001

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, sculp ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film directed by

Patrice Chéreau Patrice Chéreau (; ; 2 November 1944 – 7 October 2013) was a French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor and producer. In France he is best known for his work for the theatre, internationally for his films '' La Reine Margot'' and ''I ...

from a screenplay he co-wrote with Anne-Louise Trividic, based on stories by

Hanif Kureishi Hanif Kureishi (born 5 December 1954) is a British Pakistani playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, and novelist. He is known for his film '' My Beautiful Laundrette'' and novel '' The Buddha of Suburbia''. Early life and education Hanif Kureish ...

(who also wrote a novel of the same title). It stars

Kerry Fox Kerry Lauren Fox (born 30 July 1966) is a New Zealand actress. She came to prominence playing author Janet Frame in the movie '' An Angel at My Table'' directed by Jane Campion, which gained her a Best Actress Award from the New Zealand Film and ...

and

Mark Rylance Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (; born 18 January 1960) is an English actor, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles on stage and screen, having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Oliv ...

. The film is an international co-production between France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy, featuring a soundtrack of pop songs from the 1970s and 1980s. ''Intimacy'' contains an unsimulated

fellatio Fellatio (also known as fellation, and in slang as blowjob, BJ, giving head, or sucking off) is an oral sex act consisting of the stimulation of a human penis, penis by using the mouth. Oral stimulation of the scrotum may also be termed ''fellat ...

scene by Fox on Rylance. A French-dubbed version features voice actors

Jean-Hugues Anglade Jean-Hugues Anglade is a French actor, film director, and screenwriter, known for his roles as Eric in '' Killing Zoe'', Zorg in '' Betty Blue'' and Marco, the boyfriend of Nikita in '' Nikita''. Early life Jean-Hugues Anglade was born in Tho ...

and Nathalie Richard. The film has been associated with the

New French Extremity New French Extremity describes a range of French films made at the turn of the 21st century that were considered extreme or transgressive. Films of the New French Extremity are characterized by graphic depictions of violence, especially sexual vio ...

Plot

Jay is a bartender who abandoned his family because his wife lost interest in him and their relationship. Now living alone in a decrepit house in London, he has intense weekly sex every Wednesday with a woman whose name he does not know. At first, their relationship is purely physical, but he develops an emotional attachment to her. Jay is frustrated at work when his boss employs a junior barman, Ian, without consulting him, but later takes Ian under his wing. Wanting to know more about the woman, Jay follows her across the streets of London to the grey suburbs where she lives. He then follows her to a pub theatre where she is working as an actress in the evenings. Jay learns that her name is Claire, and she has a husband, Andy, a black cab driver, and a son, Leo. Jay befriends Andy and Leo, but Claire remains unaware that they are in contact. Jay's deadbeat friend Victor arrives unexpectedly to stay with Jay. Jay reluctantly allows him to stay but then throws him out on Wednesday before Claire is due to arrive. However, Claire does not come. Sometime later, Jay and Ian go to a squat to rescue Victor, as he has apparently fallen into drug abuse. Victor accuses Jay of being heartless. With Victor's encouragement, Jay has sex with a woman he meets there, but abruptly leaves in the morning. Jay confides in Andy about his failed marriage and that he is having an affair with a mystery woman who he sees every Wednesday. Andy introduces Jay to Claire after a play, and makes a point of mentioning Jay's affair to her. Andy and Claire later argue. Andy claims he doesn't care about the affair but that she is a bad actress who will never get anywhere, and that her persisting with it infuriates him. She tells him she's not going to leave him. Andy visits Jay's bar and obliquely makes it apparent that he knows about the affair. The next Wednesday, Claire arrives at Jay's house while Ian and Victor are helping him to clear it. She makes it clear to Jay that she will not leave her family, and won't see him anymore. They have sex one final time, then Claire leaves without looking back.

Cast

as Claire *

as Jay * Susannah Harker as Susan, Jay's wife * Alastair Galbraith as Victor * Philippe Calvario as Ian *

Timothy Spall Timothy Leonard Spall ( ; born 27 February 1957) is an English actor. He gained recognition for his character actor roles on stage and screen. In 2000, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II. S ...

as Andy, Claire's husband *

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (29 December 1946 – 30 January 2025) was an English singer and actress who achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her UK top 10 single " As Tears Go By". She became one of the leading female art ...

as Betty * Fraser Ayres as Dave * Michael Fitzgerald as bar owner *

Robert Addie Robert Alastair Addie (10 February 1960 – 20 November 2003) was an English film and theatre actor, who came to prominence playing the role of Sir Guy of Gisburne in the 1980s British television drama series ''Robin of Sherwood''. Early life ...

as bar owner * Rebecca Palmer as Pam, girl in squat

Reception

''Intimacy'' was placed at 91 on ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...

s best films of the 2000s. In a 2001 lengthy column for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', Alexander Linklater described the jealousy he experienced when his partner

took the real-sex role in this movie. Linklater concludes that he accepted the unsimulated oral scene, but he insists that the sexual intercourse is an illusion. Nevertheless, critics have declared its realist tendencies. Linda Williams, for instance, writes that "''Intimacy'' opens with urgent, hurried and explicit penetrative sex" and Tanya Krzywinska writes that in this first scene "the spectator is left in little doubt that penetration has occurred". In a 2015 interview with ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', Mark Rylance spoke of his experience on the film. At the time of the film's release, talk of the film's unsimulated sex scenes in tabloids added stress on his marriage. Rylance commented, "It soured me on my life two months. It’s my mistake, but I felt Patrice héreauput undue pressure on me on set to do that. And at that point I didn’t have the confidence as a film actor to say no. Now I think a lot of actors that people say are difficult are actually just being sensible.”

Awards

''Intimacy'' won the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, the most important international film festival award. The bear is the heraldic an ...

for Best Film and the

Silver Bear for Best Actress The Silver Bear for Best Actress () was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chosen by the International Jury from the fil ...

(

) at the

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

in 2001.

References

External links

* * {{Golden Bear 2000-2019 2001 films 2001 drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s erotic drama films Arte France Cinéma films British erotic drama films British independent films English-language French films English-language German films English-language Italian films 2001 independent films Films about adultery in the United Kingdom Films about bartenders Films based on British novels Films directed by Patrice Chéreau Films set in London Films shot in London Films whose director won the Best Director Lumières Award French erotic drama films French independent films German erotic drama films German independent films Golden Bear winners Italian erotic drama films Louis Delluc Prize winners StudioCanal films 2000s British films 2000s French films 2000s German films BAC Films films English-language independent films English-language erotic drama films