\n<\/p>\n
Every so often a tedious debate crops up on social media: Are sex scenes even necessary in movies? Gen Z, we are told, want to see fewer of them<\/a>. And yet the answer is clear if this awards season\u2019s contenders have anything to say: Yes, sex is crucial to cinema.<\/p>\n The films in the conversation are full of sex. \u201cAnora\u201d revolves around a sex worker, and showing her on the job is central to the narrative. \u201cBabygirl\u201d is all about a woman exploring the desires that she finds shameful. Even \u201cNosferatu\u201d is largely about sex: Robert Eggers\u2019s retelling of the classic vampire tale centers on the lusts of the undead count\u2019s prey, Ellen.<\/p>\n But none of the sex scenes in these and other recent movies are emotionally clear cut. Whatever titillation they might inspire comes with an asterisk: The directors are using the moments to explore complex power dynamics between characters. These scenes are meant to engender discussion, not arousal. Five in particular do this especially well:<\/p>\n The first half of Sean Baker\u2019s \u201cAnora\u201d<\/a> plays out, in many ways, like a traditional romantic comedy. A mismatched pair \u2014 the sex worker Ani (Mikey Madison) and the oligarch heir Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn) \u2014 meets, and then marries after a quick courtship. But their sex scenes are anything but romantic. Instead, they are played almost entirely for comedy. Take the first time Ani goes over to Ivan\u2019s mansion. The sex is transactional \u2014 after all, he\u2019s paying for it \u2014 but it\u2019s also extremely fast.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Madison set off controversy<\/a> when she told Variety that she declined to use an intimacy coordinator on set. For an interview with The New York Times she described the work to me more as \u201csex shots\u201d<\/a> than sex scenes. This is true to the moment onscreen: The intercourse itself lasts about 10 seconds. Ivan orgasms too quickly and Ani stifles a laugh. The next thing you know, Baker cuts to Ivan turning on the TV. He\u2019s satisfied; for her it\u2019s just another day at the proverbial office. The interaction plays like a gag and the audience is meant to giggle.<\/p>\n Here Baker is establishing the uneven dynamics. Ani is far more experienced sexually, but that can\u2019t make up for the fact that Ivan\u2019s wealth means she is entirely beholden to him. Ani is not aware of this initially, but when the reality of the situation becomes evident in the second half of the movie and Ivan bolts at the first sign of a threat from his parents, she realizes just how little control she has over him.<\/p>\n Robert Eggers\u2019s \u201cNosferatu\u201d<\/a> grand finale has prompted debate ever since his film was released last month: Is it twistedly romantic? Or brutally horrific? Or something in between?<\/p>\n As plague spreads in her town, Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) realizes that the only way to stop the reign of terror unleashed by Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgard) is to sacrifice herself to him. That means keeping him with her until day breaks. While her husband goes on a wild-goose chase thinking he is hunting the vampire, she dons a bridal gown and welcomes Orlok into her room. She undresses and as he sinks his teeth into her chest, she appears in a state of ecstasy. When he begins to notice the sun, she reaches up to cradle his face once more. As they lie dead in each other\u2019s arms, flowers surrounding his desiccated corpse atop her still youthful one, they look less like villains than tragic lovers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Of course the fact that Orlok is a centuries-old bloodsucker and Ellen is a young woman raises questions of consent, especially given how he has possessed her mind and body. But Eggers makes it clear that she is acting of her own will here, and that her desire cannot be easily explained or defined. When she met Orlok in the past, she experienced pleasure with him; the same is true in their final embrace.<\/p>\n\u2018Anora\u2019: The Quickie<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u2018Nosferatu\u2019: The Finale<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u2018Babygirl\u2019: The Seedy Hotel Tryst<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n