Film & TV3 min(s) read
An actress has explained why she doesn’t regret filming an unsimulated oral sex scene, even though her partner had to watch it.
Kerry Fox starred alongside Mark Rylance in Patrice Chéreau's 2001 erotic drama, Intimacy, which became known for steamy scenes between its lead actors.
Based on a book by Hanif Kureishi, the synopsis reads: "A failed London musician meets once a week with a woman for a series of intense sexual encounters to get away from the realities of life. But when he begins inquiring about her, it puts their relationship at risk."
At the time of the film's release, there were rumors that the steamy scenes were real, to which the director insisted at the time: "Everything was simulated."
However, Fox's husband, Alexander Linklater, later revealed in an interview with The Guardian that, while most of the sex was indeed an illusion, there was an unsimulated oral scene.
"It wasn't going to be a trick. In fact, this lonely line was a useful indicator that, if Kerry accepted the role, the sex in Intimacy would be far more demanding than the normal perfunctory erotic interlude of most mainstream movies. To some indefinable degree, this sex would be real," he penned.
Linklater admitted that this immediately raised difficult questions about jealousy and trust, as the couple had only been dating for six months at the time.
"Forget Kerry - this wasn't going to be easy for me. I was in the flush of the most important relationship of my life and had no doubt that I was also, in the immortal words of John Lennon, a jealous guy," he said.
"If the film went ahead, I would have to wait while she left for rehearsals to practise sex with Mark, and came back home," he continued. "Then, I would have to wait as she went on set, undressed with Mark, took him in her arms, helped him reach a state of arousal, and came back home again."
"And eventually, I would have to watch, along with a sizeable public, in the magnificent magnified detail of widescreen cinema, everything they'd done together. Or, after editing, not quite everything. Which is the worst? Seeing nothing, or something, or everything?" he added.
The oral sex scene reportedly put stress on Fox's co-star Rylance's marriage to Claire van Kampen.
Rylance revealed: "Intimacy was the most difficult job I've ever had. Hanif Kureishi's work and Patrice Chereau's words convinced me it was a very true and vital story about the difficulties people face finding intimacy in a big city like London.
"I know Hanif Kureishi's writing couldn't have been more intimate and revealing, but I found the making of the film and the subsequent publicity and personal attacks very, very painful. And I wish I hadn't made it," he added.
Meanwhile, Fox said in a 2012 interview with Metro that she has no "regrets" and described her performance in Intimacy as one of her "best pieces of work".
The actress is now married to Linklater, and the couple shares two children.
If you're curious to see what all the attention is about, Intimacy is available to stream on Prime Video.
