A One Mann’s Movies review of “Sex” (2024) (From the 2024 London Film Festival).
Alternative Title: Sexo.
Yes, yes, I know… the LFF finished a couple of weeks ago. But I’ve been on holiday and only just finished writing this one up. “Sex” is a really curious (perhaps bi-curious?) little Norwegian film that manages to take an interesting and surprising topic and drain all the potential life out of it. Indeed, at times, this one I found to be just plain boring.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
“Sex” Plot Summary:
Avdelingsleder (Thorbjørn Harr) and Feier (Jan Gunnar Røise) are two heterosexual married men who are chimney sweeps in Oslo. One day, Avdelingsleder confesses to Feier that he has been having disturbing dreams about his own sexuality and David Bowie! But Feier can top that: he has an even more surprising revelation.
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. (The has not yet been rated by the BBFC but I would expect it to be a ’15’ based on discussion of sexual practices and language.)
Talent:
Starring: Thorbjørn Harr, Jan Gunnar Røise, Siri Forberg, Birgitte Larsen, Anne Marie Ottersen, Theo Dahl.
Directed by: Dag Johan Haugerud.
Written by: Dag Johan Haugerud.
Running Time: 2h 5m.
“Sex” Summary:
Positives:
- An interesting topic on how different individuals within a committed relationship see “cheating”.
- Could have just been based around Feier’s story for a much tighter, 90 minute feature.
Negatives:
- Very long, dull, single-angle takes of two people talking.
- Very leisurely ‘arty’ shots of landscapes or buildings to (albeit quite good) jazz music.
Review of “Sex”:
A tale of two sexual experiences.
Sex is always a great topic for a film as so much of life and society revolves around it. You only have to watch “Anora” to appreciate that! In this case, the Norwegian writer/director Dag Johan Haugerud has made a 2 hour film focusing on two aspects of sexuality. The problem is that one of the topics is bizarrely engrossing and the other one just isn’t!
Dreams of Bowie.
In the less interesting strand, Avdelingsleder (Thorbjørn Harr) drones on about a recurring dream he has been having about David Bowie interacting with him as if he was a woman. He is also concerned that he thinks his speaking and singing voice seems to have been getting higher and less masculine. He discusses all of this, and Feir’s story, with his wife Lege (Anne Marie Ottersen) in great sexual detail with his young teen son (Theo Dahl) listening in. My mind again went to another LFF film – Finland’s “My Eternal Summer” – with 15-year old Fanny (Kaya Toft Loholt) dragging her boyfriend upstairs for sex while her parents roll their eyes and go “kids”! You once again appreciate how much more liberated the Scandi’s are about sex in society that we stuck up Brits (let alone the puritanical quarter of Trump’s America.)
However, I was left with the feeling of “so what” about Avdelingsleder’s story.
Well, that’s surely not cheating?!
At the other extreme is the confession of Feier (Jan Gunnar Røise) who has a one-time homosexual affair with a random man (which we never get to see) AND then reports it to his wife Revisor (Siri Forberg). This is done in an almost jokey “you’ll never guess dear who f***ed me up the ass today” manner. The intriguing thing is that he genuinely seems to not think that this is cheating. I was, at this point, thinking “Wow, I know Scandinavia is liberal” but surely it’s not THAT liberal?! Indeed it is not! Much of the drama that ensues (and by “drama” I mean long static conversations) is comprised of Feier and Revisor uncovering the hurt and lack of trust that this ‘lapse’ has caused within their previously stable marriage.
It set me to thinking about what might constitute a graduated scale of a person’s perception of ‘cheating’. I went through mild options like checking other women/men out in the street; a peck goodbye on the cheek and ogling lingerie catalogs through online porn, sexting, kissing, touching and a range of sexual engagements. But I really couldn’t think of any item more extreme than the one Feier had admitted to: anal sex. He really hit the nuclear button hard.
Revisor’s lack of curiosity.
Getting a little into the sordid detail, another aspect of the script that just didn’t ring true was the lack of enquiry that Revisor had. Wouldn’t you want to know EVERY detail of what your husband had done? For example, the pair get into the discussion of whether he was – erm – a “giver” or “receiver” (he was a receiver), whether the stranger orgasmed and whether Feier enjoyed the experience. But then the questions end. Surely you would want to know if the positions were then reversed?
Interesting, but…
So Feier’s machinations and marital angst are interesting to watch, but sadly Haugerud delivers it in SUCH a dull way. The camera is normally just fixed in a single static position staring at two characters talking. In the case of the revelation between Feier and Revisor, the camera is behind them both, so you can’t even see any of Revisor’s facial reactions to extract the drama out of the conversation. Some of these scenes go on for a good 10 minutes.
Interspersed between the scenes were jazz-fuelled interludes (music by Peder Kjellsby) showing either static shots of Oslo buildings or of streetscapes etc.
This is probably all classed as “art”. But I’m afraid I was fast losing patience with the film. It was just plain dull!
I’m not sure if it was intentional (a loosening up of the sexual tension in the film?) but I didn’t notice the static nature of the shots quite so much in the second half of the film. We seem to be intercutting more freely between different camera angles.
Summary Thoughts on “Sex”
This film could have been really interesting, delving into what different individuals in committed relationships class as “cheating” and the effects that has on the relationship. But it is delivered in such an artsy way that I found it frustrating and dull. In my opinion, it would have been much better to have made a 90 minute film focused on just Feier’s story.
Where to Watch it (Powered by Justwatch)
Trailer for “Sex”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBVPXBQrE0Q.
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