Reviews
Intimacy | Review
Intimacy, a film based on the stories of Hanif Kureishi is also the first English-language feature from veteran French film director Patrice Chereau, and also the winner of the Golden Bear at this year’s Berlin Film Festival. This is my first introduction to the work of this director who won the Cesar as best director in 1998. Intimacy is a cold film…just like the location that it is set in: London. Just like the empty space at the bottom flat of the protagonist’s apartment, two empty souls come together, once a week, nothing too sophisticated- and have sex that is un-sexy on the floor among ashtrays and dirty clothes. Jay (Mark Rylance Angels & Insects) is a cruel individual…he is cruel in the way he deals with his friends and employees, Jay is also a pathetic character, his motivations are based on his indulgence for a world of emptiness- we later learn that he voluntarily ruined his former life- by dumping his wife and kids by the end we soon discover that he knows no boundaries… as he eventually makes the choice to break this pact with this woman.
This mystery person is named Claire, ( Kerry Fox Shallow Grave ) who finds comfort from this so-called relationship, it allows her to get away from her own world of disappointment, a world where the only good thing going for her are the acting classes that she teaches and her Tennessee Williams play inside a messily pub. She too is cruel, especially with her students, but more with her family life as she chooses to have this affair. This decision stems from the life she ended up with and not the life that she wished that she had. The real switch in gears occurs when he follows her-. He decides to follow her because he finally decides he needs to know more about her history…obviously something that was never made into a topic of discussion among the two. Jay’s probing leads him to the pub, but also leads him, accidentally into a preamble with her own family. Introduce the taxi-driving husband named Andy, (Timothy Spall Secrets & Lies) the supportive husband who likes to shoot pool between the acts of the play. Jay befriends him, probes him with hypothetical questions about relationships almost mocking him in his face. This will ultimately change the dynamics of this triangle, and the consequence is that Jay has empty Wednesdays. The film opens with a charged opening scene of pure and raw uncensored sex, and the following scenes are everything-but the typical fancy-simulated sex scenes. There is this satisfying level of discomfort… with the camera absorbed into the act- allowing for no breaks out of this. There is this authenticity about this film, and one that continually is not afraid to push the buttons. This is a penetrating drama, with an intensity level that resonates throughout the film especially because of the camera work (cinematographer Eric Gautier). He is very explicit…the set-up of the shots pull in the viewer into the moments- sometimes bringing us too close and thus disrupting that “level of comfort ness”. There is a texture in the shots and a framing that does not allow for any diminish in our interest.
Rylance and Fox give two outstanding performances; Fox was awarded the Silver Bear for best actress at the Berlin Film Festival. It must have been an emotionally-challenging film for the two…these characters are bleak and the moments of isolation and tension were emotionally stirring. One great moment, was what I would call an anticipated scene, when the taxi-driving husband rips into his wife. This film does have its share of annoyances. I couldn’t figure out this “other” cast- this cloud of characters that didn’t quite fit in the film, that had no pertinence but are given a lot of space…I mean what was their purpose? And the one thing that perplexed me was how is it that a woman comes to the downstairs of a man’s apartment for pure sex without saying a word.…there must have been some kind of discussion at some point, how did these rendezvous come about? Was it an ad in the paper or was she a former groupie? If you don’t mind a good slap in the face and some breakout performances then surrender your fears, surrender your doubts, your clothes and check this film out.