Deep Water: Director explains how to direct sex scenes like Fatal Attraction
Deep Water director Adrian Lyne explains how he manages the sex scenes, including past hits like Fatal Attraction, 9 1/2 Weeks, and Indecent Proposal.
Deep Water director Adrian Lyne explains how he manages the sex scenes. Lynn is best known for his work in the erotic thriller genre, having made a slew of popular films within it, including 9 1/2 Weeks, Fatal Attraction, Indecent Show, and Unfaithful. The director has been on hiatus for 20 years and is back in the genre that made him famous with Hulu's Deep Water, starring Ben Affleck, Ana de Armas, and Euphoria's Jacob Lordy.
Lane is responsible for several genre metaphors and stylistic trends that have emerged from his films, including the '80s style of one of his first films, Flashdance with Jennifer Beals. His first pornographic movie, 9 1/2 Weeks, was heavily censored in the US but was released untouched in Europe and became everyone's favorite. Fatal Attraction with Michael Douglas and Glenn Close became a cautionary tale about infidelity, with the creation of many often quoted scenes to this day. The same could be said of the 1993 indecent show, starring Robert Redford, Demi Moore, and Woody Harrelson, which inspired the question of "Can you" sleep with someone for a million dollars.
Speaking to The Independent, Lynn explains how he manages his sex scenes, which include a level of "confidence" and his close and talkative engagement, saying that he acts as a kind of cheerleader for his actors. Lynn says this helps them in the scene, which leads to better performance. Deep Water contains several sex scenes that require such techniques, but Lyne also had to deal with the newly imposed intimacy coordinator, which he initially resisted. Check out his full quote below:
I always thought there was something horrible about actors doing this in complete silence. Or very gloomy, and then wonders if their backside looks good, or if their thighs are flabby. So I always act like a kind of cheerleader. Sometimes I'll say, “It's good! It's good!" You feel their confidence building, so it's an even better sight. I do it a lot. [...] But what's important is that you get so close that you're kind of like her husband and wife and she shrunk — and then you get to work.
Lynn goes on to explain that his style has been a staple in his work since his early films, even going so far as to describe his relationship with Michael Douglas and Glenn Close as "menage a trois" on the set of Fatal Attraction, though to explain it wasn't in the literal sense. Lynn explains that his directing style reaches a deeper level than personal interaction with his actors. The director also says he does not plan to take another 20-year break from directing, so his style has yet to be applied.
While some actors have complained about the lack of censorship when it comes to sex scenes in films, the inclusion of the site's intimacy moderators appears to help with this problem, while still allowing directors who know what they're doing, like Lyne, to continue crafting scenes according to their artistic vision. While Deep Water reviews say it didn't resonate in the same way as Lyne's classics do, it's still a welcome return from a director who has impressed with his sexy style, creating some of the best films in the genre. As long as the director in question proceeds from a place of respect, trust, and clear vision, Lynn is within his creative rights to direct as he sees fit. If anything, his endorsement of the specific intimacy coordinator being on the set of Deep Water Where No Big Deal shows that accountability doesn't necessarily hamper creativity.
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