Intimacy

Patrice Chereau's adaptation of two stories by Hanif Kureishi find Londoner's Jay and Claire (Mark Rylance and Kerry Fox) meeting every Wednesday for sex on the floor of Jay's apartment--a weekly union that is strictly physical and barely emotional, with little conversation and no questions. Jay, a bartender with an ex-wife and daughter, eventually wanting more from this relationship, secretly follows Claire after one of their trysts, and learns a bit about her family life, complete with cabdriver husband (Timothy Spall) and a son. But soon Jay discovers more about Claire than he bargained for. Winner of the Golden Bear and Best Actress honors at the 2001 Berlin Film Festival, Intimacy might have packed greater emotional resonance had Chereau shot the film in his native France rather than trying to imbue a sense of erotic mystery in a working class London setting where, quite frankly, he often does not seem at home. Still, the film is blessed with worthy performances, especially Spall as the husband who is not as gullible as one might imagine, and the always-magical Marianne Faithfull in a small but memorable role as Claire's confidant. Because of the steamy sex scenes between Rylance and Fox, the film is available in two versions: an unrated version (containing explicit material) and an R-rated version snipped of eight minutes. Recommended. (P. Hall) [Blu-ray/DVD Review—Dec. 3, 2019—Kino Lorber, 120 min., not rated, DVD: $19.95, Blu-ray: $29.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, 2001’s Intimacy features a great transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition. Extras include audio commentary by film critic Karen Han. Bottom line: this mature erotic drama makes a welcome Blu-ray debut.]