Rating: 
Summary: Reels you in..but......
Review: A simple story: Woman goes to man's apartment every Wednesday for a "no name, no history, no discussion, no attachment" whirl in the hay. Man follows woman home one day. He finds out woman has a family. Man meets husband, while keeping the secret from him. So begins an emotional experience... Trust me - Does it seem like its been done before ? You bet cha ! Not much new is introduced here as far as this kind of genre goes. (With the exception of a tasteful scene of felatio and some soft core sex scenes - No penetration, but a few shots of erections are present). Its not shocking for the most part, and its not done in a vile manner...So don't expect a sex film. The first 30 minutes is spent learning the male character (played well by Mark Rylance)and his sexual escapades with the female lead (Kerry Fox). The direction does not allow the viewer to know anything about Kerry Fox's character - so we are drawn into the a-la-'Last-Tango-In-Paris' romance without a clue being dropped as to who this woman is. Once those 30 minutes are up, we are slowly (VERY slowly) introduced to her for the last hour-and-a-half of the movie. Not only does the film takes its time with the paper thin plot - but it seems to waste the viewers time introducing us to characters who don't add anything interesting to the sexual tension of the story. One could argue these characters are building personality out of the leads - but I was asking myself a few times during the film, "So what" ? So, sadly - we get a glipse of a dreary side of London, introduced to people who are not very pleasant to be around, and left with not much feeling for either character by the time the end credits roll. Hats off to Marianne Faithful for a good acting job...Then again, her character was the only one I really took a liking to. A very well made film with good scenic locations - and very good dialogue - but not much plot or feel for the characters. See it only if this kind of movie interests you...If not, pass on it.
Rating:
Summary: Reels you in..but......
Review: Expecting a bleak experience this was surprisingly funny, to the extent they could have got away with billing it as a comedy. Rylance delivers the goods (fnar,fnar) and Marion Faithfull does some acting too. Lurches from vulgar realism to melodrama and finally to some curious and somewhat unwarranted arthouse obtuseness. What was all that waffle about "what was it like when you died?"
The explicitness rather defeats the whole point of acting. Cue boring anecdote about Olivier and Hoffman on the set of 'Marathon Man'? Nah, I'll let you off. Did we need the one for the road? Maybe it was a rare authentic moment but I questioned why the director wanted me to stand by the door watching. Five seconds of truth is still truth. Presumably the actors were paid for their endeavours which beggars uncomfortable ethical questions about prostitution.
Rating: 
Summary: Uncompromisingly bleak, gorgeously fascinating...
Review: First off, this is not a movie for: 1. People with puritannical hangups about sex and nudity, 2. People with infantile and cliched notions of Romance and Relationships with capital R's, 3. People with kitschy expectations of what a "pleasurable" movie experience should be like, and 4. People with generally childlike, conformist perceptions of self and society.
"Intimacy" is really about the LACK of real emotional intimacy, even in the midst of feverish physical intimacy between two randy strangers, not just in the all-too-familiar midst of the universal social theatre of conventional marriage with its elaborate playacting and mutually-agreed-upon delusions.
It is above all about the emotional and cultural reality that all too many of us live in: abject isolation, emotional deadness, self-absorption and ego-glorification, raving desperation and desolation.
The sex scenes are extremely realistic: instead of the usual cosmetized puppetry most often seen in film eroticism, we see two pale, flabby, clumsy and dysfunctional adults go at each other like mute rabbits, about 8 parts too-long-repressed libido and 2 parts actual skill.
Yes, there is quite a bit of (gasp!) exposure of an (gasp!) uncircumsized (gasp!) male (gasp!) sex organ, including actual (gasp!) mouth-to-genital contact (to borrow the oh-so poetic language of the Starr Report) in (gasp!) both directions.
There. Now if those stupendously mind-blowing, earth-shattering details do not knock you off of your rocking chair and leave you in a prolonged state of catatonia, you may well quite enjoy this film. True, the two main characters do not ever ride off into the sunset on a white horse with flower petals in their hair, but you probably guessed that one already.
Rating: 
Summary: Sex and the City
Review: For a while, this arty movie about sexual encounters between two strangers in London is actually quite intriging and unsettling. Unfortunately, after the first half hour the plot starts repeating its premise with little further development and moving at a slow, ungaging pace. "Intimacy" tries to deliver some food for thought about loneliness and despair in the modern world, focusing the relationship (or lack of it?) between a divorced man and a married woman that get intimate before they even manage to know each other properly. It`s an interesting idea, even if not completely original, but it could work better here. The movie has some good elements: the acting is consistent (Mark Rylance is excellent), the soundtrack captivating, the photography well-crafted and the direction is moody and atmospheric enough. However, the character development isn`t that great, and the story loses its point halfway through, turning this project into a curious yet semi-failed picture. The sex scenes, which generated some controversy, aren`t really that strong or offensive, and director Patrice Chéreau portrays those moments with a sense of style and cleverness (an harsher perspective was done in Catherine Breillat`s ridiculous "Romance").
"Intimacy" has some guts and ideas, still it soon loses its strenght, approaching a bland and tepid development on its second half that fails to seduce.
Another case of "and all it could have been".
Rating:
Summary: A Limp Mess
Review: Helmed by French auteur Patrice Chéreau, who directed the vastly superior "Queen Margot," the Birtish film "Intimacy" is a limp mess. A man and woman carry on an illicit affair - they meet at his house Wednesday afternoons for sex. They know nothing about each other, not even names. Eventually, the man (Jay, played by Mark Rylance) finds himself wanting to know more about the woman (Claire, played by Kerry Fox), and he begins following her after their trysts. What he finds out about her throws their relationship into question. "Intimacy" gained attention and notoriety for its explicit sex scenes (the R-rated version is also available, and these scenes are edited a great deal). The sex scenes are among the most graphic ever seen in a mainstream movie, including a rather shocking scene where Fox fellates Rylance (everything is shown). Ultimately, however, the sex scenes are quite un-sexy as the characters are so distant from each other. A movie called "Intimacy" that lacks any intimacy whatsoever? Sounds like an elaborate joke to me. Aside from the explicitness of the sex scenes, the movie offers nothing new. The characters are not well-delineated, and the conflicts are ill-defined. On the plus side, Mark Rylance ("Angels & Insects") and Kerry Fox ("Shallow Grave") give good performances; however, it's rather disconcerting seeing such talented actors engaging in graphic sex scenes in a tepid movie. Both actors have impressive backgrounds in the theater, and Rylance has acted extensively in Shakespearian productions at the Globe Theatre. Shaking his spear indeed! Extras: The DVD includes minimal extras: a photo gallery, brief bios of the actors, and the trailer. A director commentary would be much appreciated, or even a commentary from the actors. I'd love to hear what filming the explicit sex scenes was like!
Rating:
Summary: A Limp Mess
Review: Helmed by French auteur Patrice Chéreau, who directed the vastly superior "Queen Margot," the Birtish film "Intimacy" is a limp mess. A man and woman carry on an illicit affair - they meet at his house Wednesday afternoons for sex. They know nothing about each other, not even names. Eventually, the man (Jay, played by Mark Rylance) finds himself wanting to know more about the woman (Claire, played by Kerry Fox), and he begins following her after their trysts. What he finds out about her throws their relationship into question. "Intimacy" gained attention and notoriety for its explicit sex scenes (the R-rated version is also available, and these scenes are edited a great deal). The sex scenes are among the most graphic ever seen in a mainstream movie, including a rather shocking scene where Fox fellates Rylance (everything is shown). Ultimately, however, the sex scenes are quite un-sexy as the characters are so distant from each other. A movie called "Intimacy" that lacks any intimacy whatsoever? Sounds like an elaborate joke to me. Aside from the explicitness of the sex scenes, the movie offers nothing new. The characters are not well-delineated, and the conflicts are ill-defined. On the plus side, Mark Rylance ("Angels & Insects") and Kerry Fox ("Shallow Grave") give good performances; however, it's rather disconcerting seeing such talented actors engaging in graphic sex scenes in a tepid movie. Both actors have impressive backgrounds in the theater, and Rylance has acted extensively in Shakespearian productions at the Globe Theatre. Shaking his spear indeed! Extras: The DVD includes minimal extras: a photo gallery, brief bios of the actors, and the trailer. A director commentary would be much appreciated, or even a commentary from the actors. I'd love to hear what filming the explicit sex scenes was like!
Rating:
Summary: Where's the INTIMACY?
Review: I found this film interesting and most of the characters unlikeable. Jay and Claire are both rather shallow and more than a little cruel. I did however, find Andy sweet and felt his pain, as Claire threw their marriage on the junkheap.
For me, the revelation of this film was the SUPERB acting job of Marianne Faithfull. Granted, her character was the only truly innocent and interesting one in the film, but she found all the nuances of Betty...all the pathos and humanity. I've seen Ms. Faithfull's other films and she has really come in to her own with her work in "Intimacy". Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: NOT VERY INTIMATE.....
Review: Like other reviewers, I was disappointed in "Intimacy". I found that the film had very little to say in terms of why the two main characters (Mark Rylance and Kerry Fox) carried on such an unpleasant sexual relationship. Their weekly meetings in Rylance's grungy apartment for sex obviously indicated they each had deeper more emotional needs. But neither find what they are looking for. They are both frustrated, unhappy people with unfulfilling lives and blunt, crude sex grants them the temporary escape valve. However, it's obvious that the sex isn't really fulfilling either one of their needs. Rylance and Fox are good actors and Marianne Faithful is good as one of Fox's friends. But neither Fox nor Rylance is terribly attractive so their nude sex scenes aren't that interesting which makes the sadness and desperation of their acts even more downbeat. I agree the film is more explicit than most but without a good story and at least a positive note or two I can't really recommend it. If the film's intent is to show that an empty sexual relationship gets you nowhere, then it succeeds very well on that premise.
Rating: 
Summary: Dark Aspects of Human Sexuality
Review: Patrice Chereau is a unique director - he understands film as well as opera staging and goes for the edgy despite what the critics disclaim. INTIMACY is a bizarre story that appears more like an extended dark dream than it does a study of people in their waking hours. Note that most of the story takes place in shadows, and for very good reason. Jay (Mark Rylance) is a divorced man who quite by mistake discovers Claire (Kerry Fox) when he happens into a raunchy little theater - Claire is playing in The Glass Menagerie and her real life seems nearly as crippled as her character's life. Claire is married to a cheery fat Andy (Timothy Spall) who waits on her hand and foot, encouraging her minimal theatrical talents, while he unwittingly introduces his new found friend to his wife. Jay and Claire quite without words begin a series of weekly trysts that are solely sexual releases. When Jay begins to feel his emotions awakening, the story takes a turn and we are left watching how two people can meet, congeal, and taint their peripheral others. The acting is first rate, including a fine gay character as portrayed by Phillipe Calvario, apparently drawing a parallel with the concept of one night stands encountered in the gay world with Jay and Claire's sex-for-sex-sake. Yes, the film is dark, but that side of life deserves examination and for this viewer, the camera work, direction, music, and pacing by Chereau are very apropos of the theme. Worth watching as a sort of London version of Bertolucci's DREAMERS!
Rating:
Summary: Mark Rylance in all his glory. James Bond for 2008?
Review: Some films from England, France, Italy and Germany are allowed to have such freedom and liberties to filming nude scenes whether they are in the natural state or erotic. Very few American actors in American films will allow themselves to be seen in a natural state. Most American actors wear a willie stocking or a clamshell or prefer a body double. But those actors that agree in their contract to full frontal nudity know they will get more pay and a very handsome paycheck at that. Some have reached success very quickly. It could make a film successful too. (...). Mark Rylance is not afraid to show his erotic side in this very adult film. This unrated DVD version pushes the red line of sex and nudity on screen and yet it is still simulated sex. The nudity is more shocking as the actor allows his uncut member to be seen in various stages. I have also seen Mark Rylance in Angels & Insects were his performance is more tender and soft. (...`).
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