Red-125 Intimacy (2001) was co-written and directed by Patrice Chéreau. The movie stars Mark Rylance as Jay, the head barman at a club. Somehow, he has met Claire, played by Kerry Fox. To Jay's surprise, Claire reappears every Wednesday at his apartment to have sex with him. (That's the only way to phrase it. They don't talk, and there's no foreplay. They just tear their clothes off and go at it.) There's plenty of nude scenes of both Fox and Rylance. However, it's not really erotic, because the apartment is so dirty and unkempt that all I could think of was "it's disgusting."Matters would have apparently continued along in this way, except that Jay wants to know more about Claire. He manages to track her down to a pub/theater, where she's starring in "The Glass Menagerie." This brings him into contact with Andy, Claire's husband, played brilliantly by Timothy Spall. The plot really begins at this point, and I will carefully avoid explaining what happens next. I won't avoid saying that the plot appeared contrived and, basically, ridiculous. I wasn't familiar with the work of Kerry Fox, but she's an excellent actor. Rylance and Spall are great actors. It's hard to understand just what went wrong with this film. Some reviewers have suggested that director could have made a better movie in France than in England. Maybe we in the English-speaking world think that this bizarre plots works better if the actors are smoking Gauloises and drinking wine, rather than smoking Mayfairs and drinking ale.If you really want to see this movie, you'll have to decide whether you want to see all the sex (unrated version) or just the suggestion of sex (R-rated version). The movie has no real outdoor scenes, so it will work as well on DVD (which is how we saw it) as it will on the large screen. This isn't a great movie for anyone. If you want porn, buy porn. If you want narrative drama, buy narrative drama. Intimacy promises both, and gives you neither.

Sindre Kaspersen French screenwriter, playwright, actor and director Patrice Chéreau's eight feature film which he wrote with French screenwriter Anne-Louise Trividic after stories written by English-Pakistani author, screenwriter, playwright and director Hanif Kureushi, premiered In competition at the 51st Berlin International Film Festival in 2001, was shot on locations in England and is a France-UK-Spain-Germany co-production which was produced by producer Charles Gassot. It tells the story about a drama teacher named Claire who lives with her family in London, England and a father and bartender named Jay.Distinctly and precisely directed by French filmmaker Patrice Chéreau, this quietly paced fictional tale which is narrated interchangeably from the main characters' viewpoints, draws a humane portrayal of an unacquainted she and he who meet each other on Wednesdays at his place. While notable for its atmospheric milieu depictions and distinct cinematography by cinematographer Eric Gautier, this character-driven and dialog-driven story about non-theoretical … and language where the male lead asks: "Was this agreed?" the female lead asks: "All those things I was hiding. Scary, isn't it?" an English singer utters the words: "When I died, there was no one there …" and "… on the day you die you have total freedom of speech …" which was made more than a century after a French 19th century mystic with a middle name meaning merciful, in her memoirs, wrote: "… If a little bitterness drops onto these pages, no venom will ever fall. The human race as a whole is blameless if individuals waste away like animals in the struggle for existence …" ninety-six years after the first Remembrance Day (1919) was held in the United Kingdom, thirty-two years after an English singer with a first name of English origins meaning counsel of the wolf sang his lyrics: "… The rain cries a little pity for one more forgotten hero and a world that doesn't care …" nine years after an English band started by an Irish lead vocalist called Shakespeare's Sister sang: "… the headlines in the street - - another war … we're bingo numbers and our names are obsolete … a brave new world had dawned upon the human race …" eight years before and English multi-instrumentalist with a birth name meaning innocent in Latin sang: "… Somebody's gonna get hurt … Don't oh please don't oh please don't oh please don't …" and fourteen years before Londoners integrated in the streets of London to protest, depicts several interrelated studies of character and contains a great and timely score by composer Eric Neveaux.This immediate character piece from the early 2000s which is set in England in the early 21st century and where a practicing theatre actress is alive, is impelled and reinforced by its cogent narrative structure, substantial character development, rhythmic continuity, comment by Claire: "You don't even know who I am. You don't even know how to hurt me." and the respectively lingering acting performances by New Zealand actress Kerry Fox, English actors Mark Rylance and Timothy Spall and English actress Marianne Faithful. A graceful narrative feature.

aeg-11 My husband is currently watching this film which we rented, which he seems to be enjoying. Maybe it's just my mood tonight, but I found this film unwatchable. Literally. I had to leave the room -- something I NEVER do when my husband and I are watching a film together. I found it irritating. The characters were so unsympathetic, dysfunctional and frankly boring, I couldn't work up enough interest to care about them, even in a literary sense. As I was watching the sex scenes I thought "I SHOULD be finding this erotic" but I wasn't -- probably because I didn't these like or care about them. (I guess that's the difference between "women's porn" and "men's porn.") I thought the entire mood of the movie was dark, depressing and that the characters had sex just to reassure themselves they were alive. To me, that's sad and pathetic and depressing, not erotic. Hey, call me a romantic.To each his/her own, I guess.Watch it for the sex scenes if you like, but for me, there wasn't much else in terms of interesting plot lines or character. I think it's boring and frequently painful to watch.PS The movie is over. I asked my husband if HE liked it, since he watched it to the end. His answer was NO. He read this review, and he agrees. A waste of time.

P-McDonald This film received a tremendous amount of attention when it was released in the UK. All this was due to the sex scenes. Four years later and seeing the film for the first time, I do think there is cause for alarm at the film but not for the reasons given by the original moral critics. The film is simply dreadful. For a tale so concerned with the appearances given by people, all three leads (Rylance, Fox and Spall) frequently give appalling performances. Then there is the general unevenness of the film. It sways uncontrollably from the quiet 'intimate' scenes, which are probably the best bits of the two hours, to the moments of dramatic confrontation that lack focus, sense or drama. The director simply cannot handle straightforward dramatic duologues. There is a character called Victor, and every time he turns up there is a huge question-mark hanging over the film saying - where is this going? Avoid this film. Last Tango in Paris was bad enough. This is considerably worse.