Intimacy (2001)

disappointing

Andrew from London , 17/11/2004

very gritty, bleak drama set in South London about broken relationships, casual sex and the impacts on the lives (and families) of those involved.

the sex scenes are unnecessarily graphic - one has the impression they were done like this to push the envelope and generate some publicity (which they did at the time) - rather than because it was necessary.

Timothy Spall gives a good performance as the cuckolded husband and Mark Rylance and Kerry Fox are believable - but it's such a depressing story without enough redeeming features to hold your attention or make you care about what happens that I can't recommend it.

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Bleak

hoops84 from herts , 09/08/2004

Very bleak and depressing view of relationships and adultery. None of the characters were remotely likable, though their performances were very intense. The soundtrack was quite good, but the depiction of London left me cold. Incidentally I used to drink in the pub they used in the film, and it has certainly changed if they have a theatre there now. Can't recommend this one I'm afraid.

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A dissection of sex, desire and intimacy

marcooni from Congleton , 22/08/2005

Every Wednesday afternoon, a woman (Kerry Fox) arrives at a dismal, barely furnished flat in an unappealing part of London for no other reason than to have sex with the man who lives there (Mark Rylance). They ‘tear’ off each others clothes, make love on the floor (although more in lust than love) and part company as soon as it's over and few words are spoken. When the mystery woman (Claire) misses a Wednesday visit, the man, Jay is crushed, so after her next visit he follows her home and finds she has not only a husband but a son and an interesting social life.

The movie is very erotically graphic (not nearly as graphic as the recent “9 Songs”). I found this movie like a typical French movie; a little lacking in excitement but true to life, as this sort of thing is happening all over the UK, all day, everyday.

I enjoyed this movie and don’t totally agree with some of the other negative reviews. I feel that this film would be more appreciated by people who are married or divorced, as they can probably relate better to the circumstances in the movie. For the younger folk, try ‘9 songs’ as that is probably more suitable.

Tim Spall is excellent, as always, this time as Claire’s husband and Marianne Faithful plays the part of a loopy amateur actress.

Watch it twice.

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Sex and a pool table.

Eno from Liverpool , 13/09/2005

Obviously when watching a film whose reputation is largely built on the graphic nature of its sex scenes, one approaches it with a certain anticipation of what it'll be like. For me this prior expectation was well founded. The sex is done tastefully and even charmingly as the protagonists role around trying clumsily to remove items of clothes with none of the sex appeal which Hollywood would have you invest. However as the film progresses and the encounter's prove to be many and same-y, other elements of the movie suffer and it is clear that the sex not the story is films main attraction. The cinematography is nothing if not classic (un-experimental) art house, and the plot is littered with a whole list of uninteresting characters you couldn't care less for. Even the scene where Tony (main protagonist) is revealing too many details about his affair, to his mistresses un-assuming husband (Timothy Spall) completely fails in its attempts at dramatic irony. The skin head friend causes more tension as he slams his pool cue on the table in a caveman-esque protest at his friends lack of play! So all in all, though the intimate scene's the film is famous for are well done, the end result disappoints through shear poor script writing. To end with a cheap shot, its much the same with any porn film ever made.

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Sex and a pool table.

Eno from Liverpool , 13/09/2005

Obviously when watching a film whose reputation is largely built on the graphic nature of its sex scenes, one approaches it with a certain anticipation of what it'll be like. For me this prior expectation was well founded. The sex is done tastefully and even charmingly as the protagonists role around trying clumsily to remove items of clothes with none of the sex appeal which Hollywood would have you invest. However as the film progresses and the encounter's prove to be many and same-y, other elements of the movie suffer and it is clear that the sex not the story is films main attraction. The cinematography is nothing if not classic (un-experimental) art house, and the plot is littered with a whole list of uninteresting characters you couldn't care less for. Even the scene where Tony (main protagonist) is revealing too many details about his affair, to his mistresses un-assuming husband (Timothy Spall) completely fails in its attempts at dramatic irony. The skin head friend causes more tension as he slams his pool cue on the table in a caveman-esque protest at his friends lack of play! So all in all, though the intimate scene's the film is famous for are well done, the end result disappoints through shear poor script writing. To end with a cheap shot, its much the same with any porn film ever made.

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Explicit dredge

Helen Manzano from North London , 30/07/2005

I agree with the other reviewers. The sex scenes are definitely gritty and graphic (and in a perverse way it's refreshing to see two normal people going at it rather than air-brushed Hollywood A-listers) and it's as well acted as it can be for a working class drama with an incredibly depressing storyline. Why didn't these characters just talk to each other? London lends itself perfectly to the bleak feel of the film but rather than creating atmosphere more than anything it's made me want to move.

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