Intimacy (2001)

Director:

Patrice Chéreau

Writers:

Hanif Kureishi (stories)
Anne-Louise Trividic (written by) ...

Release Date:

28 March 2001 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Every Wednesday, She meets once a week.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Male Full Frontal Nudity | Leg Spreading | Based On Multiple Works | Actress Breaking Typecast | Explicit Sex

Awards:

6 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Mark Rylance	...	Jay
Kerry Fox	...	Claire
Susannah Harker	...	Susan, Jay's wife
Alastair Galbraith	...	Victor
Philippe Calvario	...	Ian
Timothy Spall	...	Andy
Marianne Faithfull	...	Betty
Fraser Ayres	...	Dave
Michael Fitzgerald	...	Bar owner
Robert Addie	...	Bar owner
Deborah McLaren	...	Student at the drama school
Rebecca R. Palmer	...	Pam, girl in squat (as Rebecca Palmer)
Greg Sheffield	...	Jay's son
Vinnie Hunter	...	Jay's son (as Vinni Hunter)
Joe Prospero	...	Luke, Claire's son

Also Known As:

Intimidad (Spain)
Intimité (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content and language.

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

France | UK | Germany | Spain

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hungary:18 | Iceland:16 | USA:Unrated | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Canada:R | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Ireland:18 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Poland:18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R (heavily cut) | Chile:14 | Singapore:R(A) (heavily cut) | Australia:MA (cable rating)

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Company:

Téléma

Trivia:

The first mainstream English language film with unsimulated sex scenes to be passed uncut in Great Britain.

Quotes:

Ian: You know when you're with someone there's only a very short time when you can really give each other things for free... with neither of you having to ask. Because later on all you do is make demands of each other. Perhaps the only difference between her and all the rest is that she's asking you for nothing.

Movie Connections:

References "Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em" (1973)

Soundtrack:

Candidate

Indirect Yet Compelling

Like most films either adapted from Hanif Kureishi's fiction or having screenplays written by him (`My Beautiful Laundrette', `Sammy And Rosie Get Laid' as well as this film, which lists Kureishi as a co-writer along with Anne-Louise Trividic and director Patrice Chereau), `Intimacy' circles its subject in an indirect manner, never declaring what it's truly about but leaving a distinct impression. This can make for difficult viewing, requiring an inordinate amount of concentration to keep up (and which wears you down after a while) and it only sinks in long after it's over. But that's the film's strong point: the writers prefer to have you draw your own conclusions, with dialogue that forces you to read between the lines of an affair in which both participants seem to be using it to address their individual demons. Chereau and Kureishi are more interested in their characters' circumstances than their actions but it's precisely their circumstances that make their actions compelling. Mark Rylance and Kerry Fox are the lovers (and they're excellent, even though the fact their trysts are presented in explicit detail may overshadow their performances), with Rylance as a bitter bartender who has spontaneously abandoned his family and Fox as a drama teacher stifled in her marriage to a cabbie (Mike Leigh favorite Timothy Spall, also very fine) whom Rylance befriends in an attempt to understand her; it's the tensions that build around the trio that drives the narrative. It's an unhappy yet sensitive film that may distance some audiences and push others into uncomfortable areas they may not want to visit, yet there's no denying its inquisitive, intelligent presence.