Scenes of a Sexual Nature
Encyclopedia
Scenes of a Sexual Nature is a 2006 British comedy-drama film directed by Ed Blum
. It stars Ewan McGregor
, among others.
in north London
, featuring an ensemble cast
. The scenes appear out of sequence and jump back and forth between one story and another.
Husband and wife Jamie (Andrew Lincoln
) and Molly (Holly Aird) are lying on the grass, discussing footballers and multiple orgasms. Molly notices Jamie staring at a pretty girl nearby, Sophie (Eglantine Rembauville
). When he is challenged about it, he pretends he was looking at the book the girl was reading, L'Etranger
by Albert Camus
. Immediately seeing through his lies, Molly questions Jamie about the book, who claims it is a western about a man who eventually becomes sheriff. In order to embarrass Jamie and expose him as a liar, she then approaches Sophie to question her about the book as well.
Iris (Eileen Atkins
) and Eddie (Benjamin Whitrow
), an older couple, meet on a park bench, and start talking about London
's skyline and wondering about the couple to whom the bench is dedicated. They discover that they both come to the same bench on different days of the week. They are both widowed. In talking about their past, they also discover that, nearly fifty years before, they had met romantically at that spot and that is why they both kept coming back. They walk off to climb to higher ground, bemoaning the difficulty with climbing hills as they get older. They are bemused by the irony of meeting again, and have mixed feelings as they no longer represent an idealized partner in each other's minds. They talk about seeing each other again, but Iris also decides to visit her ex-husband's grave, now appreciating more their time together.
Anna (Sophie Okonedo
), a disturbed young woman with extreme mood swings, is crying and arguing with her boyfriend Ludo (Nick Sidi
), who eventually walks off. She is then approached by a young man, Noel (Tom Hardy
) who, in a confused way, asks after her welfare and tries to make her laugh. She asks to be left alone, but he sits next to her and appears to meditate. His weird behaviour interests her and they strike up a conversation, but she becomes annoyed with him. She suddenly orders him to have sex with her right away but subsequently leaves him with his pants around his knees. Noel re-appears in the film several times as he chances upon other characters.
Gay life-partners Billy (Ewan McGregor
) and Brian (Douglas Hodge
) are also lying on the grass, discussing other gay men and The Good Life. Billy has trouble giving up casual sex with other men, while Brian wants him to be faithful to him. They later talk about adopting children, which Billy wants but Brian doesn't. Billy promises to give up casual sex when the two adopt children, which convinces Brian to think about it. However, seconds later Billy runs off in pursuit of an attractive man who passed them.
Peter Brian Maxwell (Adrian Lester
) and Sara Louise Williams (Catherine Tate
) meet on a different bench. It transpires that they are married and have a seven-year old daughter, Eve (Elle Mckenzie), but are getting divorced from each other. However, they have mixed feelings about this because they still care for each other.
Louis (Mark Strong
) meets Esther (Polly Walker
) and discusses Louis' father's funeral. Louis presents Esther with tickets for a holiday in Barbados
. They discuss a variety of issues like a traditional couple, but in the end it transpires that Esther is an escort
and is paid for her time with Louis.
Gerry (Hugh Bonneville
) and Julia (Gina McKee
) sit on a rug enjoying some red wine and cheese
. They stumble over modern terminology for ethnic minorities and not being, or appearing to be, racist. They talk about former relationships and children and, as they are both in their early forties, Julia worries that she will no longer be able. The two are on a blind date together - Julia's first. They seem to be getting along well until Julia's attention is briefly drawn towards Louis, who passes them. Insulted by this, Gerry decides to leave abruptly.
, the director, re-mortgaged his flat.
. The BBC
gave it 3 stars out of 5, saying it had a "beautiful backdrop and pleasant nuances," whereas Empire
magazine gave it 2 stars, saying it was "good in patches but insubstantial, the only discernible moral is that Hampstead Heath is a nice place to be on a sunny day.".
It opened in niche cinemas, earning about US$100,000 in its first weekend.
Ed Blum
Ed Blum is the director and producer of Scenes of a Sexual Nature , a low budget British movie starring Ewan McGregor and Sophie Okonedo, filmed entirely on Hampstead Heath. This was his first full-length feature and as Blum said, was made "for less than Love Actually 's catering budget."He was...
. It stars Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
, among others.
Plot
The film is mostly based on a series of seven loosely related stories of couples on Hampstead HeathHampstead Heath
Hampstead Heath is a large, ancient London park, covering . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London clay...
in north London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, featuring an ensemble cast
Ensemble cast
An ensemble cast is made up of cast members in which the principal actors and performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance and screen time in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on...
. The scenes appear out of sequence and jump back and forth between one story and another.
Husband and wife Jamie (Andrew Lincoln
Andrew Lincoln
Andrew Lincoln is an English actor, known for his roles in the TV series This Life, Teachers and Afterlife, and the films Love Actually and Heartbreaker...
) and Molly (Holly Aird) are lying on the grass, discussing footballers and multiple orgasms. Molly notices Jamie staring at a pretty girl nearby, Sophie (Eglantine Rembauville
Eglantine Rembauville
Eglantine Rembauville-Nicolle is a French film actor active in French and British cinema and television. She is notable for roles in Scenes of a Sexual Nature, The Bill and The Da Vinci Code, along with the French television series Le bleu de l'océan.-External links:...
). When he is challenged about it, he pretends he was looking at the book the girl was reading, L'Etranger
The Stranger (novel)
The Stranger or The Outsider is a novel by Albert Camus published in 1942. Its theme and outlook are often cited as examples of existentialism, though Camus did not consider himself an existentialist; in fact, its content explores various philosophical schools of thought, including absurdism, as...
by Albert Camus
Albert Camus
Albert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
. Immediately seeing through his lies, Molly questions Jamie about the book, who claims it is a western about a man who eventually becomes sheriff. In order to embarrass Jamie and expose him as a liar, she then approaches Sophie to question her about the book as well.
Iris (Eileen Atkins
Eileen Atkins
Dame Eileen June Atkins, DBE is an English actress and occasional screenwriter.- Early life :Atkins was born in the Mothers' Hospital in Clapton, a Salvation Army women's hostel in East London...
) and Eddie (Benjamin Whitrow
Benjamin Whitrow
Benjamin "Ben" Whitrow is a British actor. He attended the Dragon School, Tonbridge School, and RADA. Whitrow was also part of the King's Dragoon Guards from 1956 to 1958. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1981...
), an older couple, meet on a park bench, and start talking about London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's skyline and wondering about the couple to whom the bench is dedicated. They discover that they both come to the same bench on different days of the week. They are both widowed. In talking about their past, they also discover that, nearly fifty years before, they had met romantically at that spot and that is why they both kept coming back. They walk off to climb to higher ground, bemoaning the difficulty with climbing hills as they get older. They are bemused by the irony of meeting again, and have mixed feelings as they no longer represent an idealized partner in each other's minds. They talk about seeing each other again, but Iris also decides to visit her ex-husband's grave, now appreciating more their time together.
Anna (Sophie Okonedo
Sophie Okonedo
Sophie Okonedo, OBE is a British actress, who has starred both in successful British and American productions. In 1991, she made her acting debut in the British critically acclaimed coming-of-age drama, Young Soul Rebels...
), a disturbed young woman with extreme mood swings, is crying and arguing with her boyfriend Ludo (Nick Sidi
Nick Sidi
Nick Sidi is an English actor. He is the son-in-law of actress Rosalind Knight and brother-in-law of actress Susannah Elliott-Knight. He often plays drama or comedy roles on television and frequently appears in BBC dramas...
), who eventually walks off. She is then approached by a young man, Noel (Tom Hardy
Tom Hardy
Edward Thomas "Tom" Hardy is an English actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the 2008 British film Bronson, the character of Eames in Inception, and the villain Praetor Shinzon in Star Trek Nemesis...
) who, in a confused way, asks after her welfare and tries to make her laugh. She asks to be left alone, but he sits next to her and appears to meditate. His weird behaviour interests her and they strike up a conversation, but she becomes annoyed with him. She suddenly orders him to have sex with her right away but subsequently leaves him with his pants around his knees. Noel re-appears in the film several times as he chances upon other characters.
Gay life-partners Billy (Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
) and Brian (Douglas Hodge
Douglas Hodge
Douglas Hodge is an English actor, director, and musician who trained for the stage at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.Hodge is a council member of the National Youth Theatre for whom, in 1989, he co-wrote Pacha Mama's Blessing about the Amazon rain forests staged at the Almeida...
) are also lying on the grass, discussing other gay men and The Good Life. Billy has trouble giving up casual sex with other men, while Brian wants him to be faithful to him. They later talk about adopting children, which Billy wants but Brian doesn't. Billy promises to give up casual sex when the two adopt children, which convinces Brian to think about it. However, seconds later Billy runs off in pursuit of an attractive man who passed them.
Peter Brian Maxwell (Adrian Lester
Adrian Lester
-Personal life:Lester was born in Birmingham, England, the son of Jamaican immigrants Monica, a medical secretary, and Reginald, a manager for a contract cleaning company. He sang as a boy treble in the choir of St. Chad's Cathedral, Birmingham...
) and Sara Louise Williams (Catherine Tate
Catherine Tate
Catherine Tate is an English actress, writer, and comedian. She has won numerous awards for her work on the sketch comedy series The Catherine Tate Show as well as being nominated for an International Emmy Award and four BAFTA Awards...
) meet on a different bench. It transpires that they are married and have a seven-year old daughter, Eve (Elle Mckenzie), but are getting divorced from each other. However, they have mixed feelings about this because they still care for each other.
Louis (Mark Strong
Mark Strong
Mark Strong is an English actor, with a body of work in both films and television. He has performed in films as varied as Body of Lies, Syriana, The Young Victoria, Sherlock Holmes, RocknRolla, Stardust, and Kick-Ass...
) meets Esther (Polly Walker
Polly Walker
Polly Walker is an English actress.- Early life :Walker was born in Warrington, Cheshire, England. Her first school was Silverdale Preparatory West Acton, London. At 16, Walker graduated from Ballet Rambert School in Twickenham, began her career as a dancer, but had to abandon dancing after a leg...
) and discusses Louis' father's funeral. Louis presents Esther with tickets for a holiday in Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
. They discuss a variety of issues like a traditional couple, but in the end it transpires that Esther is an escort
Call girl
A call girl or female escort is a sex worker who is not visible to the general public; nor does she usually work in an institution like a brothel, although she may be employed by an escort agency...
and is paid for her time with Louis.
Gerry (Hugh Bonneville
Hugh Bonneville
Hugh Richard Bonneville Williams, known professionally as Hugh Bonneville , is an English stage, film, television and radio actor.-Education:...
) and Julia (Gina McKee
Gina McKee
Georgina "Gina" McKee is an English actor known for her television roles in Our Friends in the North , The Lost Prince and The Forsyte Saga ; and her portrayal of Bella in the film Notting Hill ....
) sit on a rug enjoying some red wine and cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
. They stumble over modern terminology for ethnic minorities and not being, or appearing to be, racist. They talk about former relationships and children and, as they are both in their early forties, Julia worries that she will no longer be able. The two are on a blind date together - Julia's first. They seem to be getting along well until Julia's attention is briefly drawn towards Louis, who passes them. Insulted by this, Gerry decides to leave abruptly.
Production
Scenes of a Sexual Nature was filmed on a minimal budget (estimated at £260,000), and the actors were offered Equity minimum and a percentage of future profits as their salary. The filmmakers presented the project to investors a mere two weeks before shooting began, at which point the actors had already signed on. In fact, to increase the budget, Ed BlumEd Blum
Ed Blum is the director and producer of Scenes of a Sexual Nature , a low budget British movie starring Ewan McGregor and Sophie Okonedo, filmed entirely on Hampstead Heath. This was his first full-length feature and as Blum said, was made "for less than Love Actually 's catering budget."He was...
, the director, re-mortgaged his flat.
Reception
Scenes of a Sexual Nature received mixed reviews from the critics, with a 40% rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
gave it 3 stars out of 5, saying it had a "beautiful backdrop and pleasant nuances," whereas Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
magazine gave it 2 stars, saying it was "good in patches but insubstantial, the only discernible moral is that Hampstead Heath is a nice place to be on a sunny day.".
It opened in niche cinemas, earning about US$100,000 in its first weekend.