Steven Soderbergh isn’t afraid of making a sexy movie, and has even criticized many modern movies for being sexless. The prolific filmmaker became a recognizable name after his film Sex, Lies, and Videotapes won him the Palme d’Or at The Cannes Film Festival in 1989, and he’s since gone on to direct Out of Sight, Behind the Candelabra, and two Magic Mike films. His upcoming movie Black Bag is another project he is calling a love story, but he’s been firm about his opinions on sexuality on screen. The Oscar winner recently got candid about how he feels about sex scenes in general, and why he often avoids them.
Soderbergh was recently a guest at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where he honored the late author Franz Kafka. He took time to participate in a roundtable interview where he was asked about his own perspective on sexuality on screen, especially considering his film Out of Sight is often regarded as the best use of intimacy in a movie. While the director is deeply invested in interpersonal relationships in movies, he personally isn’t a big fan of simulated sex scenes. His reasoning surrounds the idea that sex is often used as a placeholder for romance in Hollywood. He explained his perspective, saying (via The Hollywood Reporter):
Well, I think they confuse physical sexuality with love and romance. And they think, ‘Oh, if you’re making a sexy movie, there has to be sex in it.’ I’m like, ‘No.’ We all know how that part works, what’s different in every case is everything that led up to that and everything that comes after that. That’s where your individual experience and issues come out. Part of the point could be you have two people that while they’re engaged in sex, are able to escape their lives in a way that they find very intoxicating. And it turns out the problem is what’s happening when they’re not having sex. That’s an interesting approach to something. So I think it’s just a very superficial take on what love is, what a relationship is.
Out of Sight is a great example of romance and tension being prioritized over a sex scene. There are several scenes with Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney’s characters where they flirt, seduce each other and try to fight their attraction to one another. The “sex scene” is earned after the character dynamic is built. It is also intercut with an intimate dinner conversation, which is even more alluring than the actual intimacy scene. Soderbergh employs the same technique in Sex, Lies, and Videotapes, where he intercuts a character dynamic-building conversation between Andie MacDowell and James Spader with a sex scene between two other characters. Again, it’s the dialogue that’s most alluring.
Another reason Soderbergh avoids sex scenes in his later work is because they are awkward to shoot. He feels like the actors never look right and that it often comes across as ridiculous on camera. He explained:
I don’t really care about that part. It’s impossible to shoot. It’s impossible. I won’t. I’m trying to think of the last time I actually shot two actors simulating sex because I just find it ridiculous and impossible. Nobody looks good.
He is right to think that it’s been a while since he’s shot a sex scene, as he’s been more deeply focused on generating romance and character relationships. There are several intimate scenes between Michael Douglas and Matt Damon in Behind the Candelabra that showcase sexuality without an actual simulated sex scene. Magic Mike does something similar, using dancing to establish tension and connection rather than something overt.
Soderbergh also explained that the rise of the internet made sex scenes almost ineffective on film, which is all the more reason to avoid them. He said:
When I was growing up, if you were somebody who was turned on by that stuff, movies were one of the places where you could see that potentially. That is not true anymore. If you want to watch people having sex, you just pick up your phone. It’s, to my mind, all the more reason to figure out a way to portray this sort of emotional and psychological aspect of a sexual relationship, as opposed to showing the technical part. I think there’s no more powerful thing. If you want to portray that aspect of somebody’s life, of the look on somebody’s face immediately after, that’ll tell you everything you need to know about what’s happening.
Many directors are starting to share this sentiment with Soderbergh. Luca Guadagnino made one this year’s sexiest movies with Challengers, which never features an actual sex scene, but rather cinematic devices like tennis to turn up the heat. Period pieces like Pride and Prejudice also build incredible tension without so much a kiss. There are so many ways to build a love story, and sometimes, as Soderbergh suggests, holding back can be most effective.
You can revisit Out of Sight, one of Steven Soderbergh’s most notable films, now by renting the movie on Amazon. Also, make sure to watch out for his upcoming film Black Bag which stars Cate Blanchett and is currently in production. For more information on other films expected to head to the big screen in the near future, read through the 2024 movie release schedule.