Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan Struggling To Talk About More Than Their Lesbian Sex Scene in Ammonite?

We haven’t talked much about sex scenes in movies here. Now seems like as good a time as any. Will try to keep it relatively clean, despite the dirty connotations.

Porn aside, I like sex scenes in movies to mean something. With James Bond, there weren’t full on sex scenes, they were kissing and going to the bed or in the bed, and that’s it. Cut to the next action scene. We didn’t need to watch Bond getting it on with the Bond girl to get the point — two pretty people having sex.

In other movies like 365 DNI on Netflix, that movie is just teeming with sex scenes. Some very graphic. I’d call that a softcore porn movie. The sex was the story, about as much as possible without it being a porn. The crossover to porn for me is when the story is not really a story, it’s just there as a framework to show graphic sex. Some porn don’t even try to disguise this by simply characterizing the types of sexual acts that will be depicted.

Back to Ammonite, which appears to be a non-porn story, but is being marketed heavily for the depiction of a same sex scene.

There is a lot of irony going on in this quoted article below. It portrays Kate Winslet and Saoirse as somewhat conflicted in how to discuss their new movie Ammonite which is being released this weekend, without focusing predominantly on their sex scene.

But isn’t that the hook for the film? Isn’t that the “I have a special set of skills” Liam Neeson is going to kick a$$ part that draws viewers interest?

Um, that’s like trying to focus on an action movie without talking about the fight scenes or a sci-fi masterpiece without discussing the special effects. The sex is a part of the story or else why did they put the scene in there at all? I mean, extended sex scenes in movies — hetero or gay — they should have some kind of plot point, yes/no?

Or are they only there to turn on the viewers? That’s not advancing the story, that’s viewer interaction. Get a reaction out of the viewers, make them horny. OK, but what does the sex scene mean for the story?

I’m somewhat disappointed in learning the following:

There is no evidence that Mary had a same-sex relationship—or any relationship, for that matter. There’s something revolutionary on its own that Ammonite writer-director Francis Lee decided not to make her heterosexual by default, as is society’s instinct.

Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan on the Power and Joy of Filming ‘Ammonite’s’ Gay Sex Scenes

So now we’re going to have two characters that explore a lesbian sexual relationship but this was a forced, shoehorned in relationship by the writer? The real story is that there was no evidence of a same sex relationship? Sigh. This is exactly what we don’t need. Filmmakers creating gay and lesbian relationships in stories that don’t belong? I’m getting flashbacks of another unnecessary Terminator: Dark Fate being made and retelling Sarah Connor’s story, but with three Sarah Connor’s instead of one. Sigh again.

Am hoping I’m wrong.

I don’t know if that’s the way this all goes down in Ammonite or not as of this writing, so fully reserve the right to take all this back after seeing the movie. Haven’t seen it yet and still look forward to seeing it, even if it turns out that it’s exactly the way it appears.

I’m bummed to learn that the source material has apparently been altered intentionally to include a lesbian romance. That’s not the way I had understood this story to be. I thought the lead woman historically was gay and this explores her life and same sex romance. Now, I’m not so sure.

Certainly there are plenty of actual gay relationships with historical people we can tell stories about rather than to create gay stories using people that might have been gay?

Then again, maybe that’s the story the filmmaker wants to tell: the most interesting part of this historical character might very well be that she could have been gay, in the closet and afraid to share her experience with anybody except her lover.

The counter argument seems to be that the main character’s vague sexual orientation is the central story in the romance. Is that the story Ammonite will tell us? If it is, then depending on how that’s handled, that could work well.

Just shoehorning in sex scenes into any type of movie, whether hetero or gay doesn’t make much story sense to me. Yeah, I suppose from a marketing standpoint it makes great sense. See these two Hollywood actresses have simulated sex! They aren’t actually having full-on real sex. They are acting. It’s not real. Neither of these talented actresses are having real orgasms on screen (I think!) They choregraphed the scene in precise detail (see: FIRST LOOK: Ammonite).

Make the scenes integral to the story. If they are, the sex stays in. Otherwise it’s just a soft or hard porn movie. I don’t have any problem with porn — softcore or more — but if that’s what you’re doing don’t be so surprised, Kate Winslet and Saorise Ronan, ahem, that viewers like me focus and evaluate the sex scenes the way we would a porn movie. In all honesty, with all the publicity over the much-heralded sex scene between these two, that seems to be the main reason to want to watch this film. At least for this 50+ guy anyway. My wife might have other reasons to be interested in it.

Is anybody else interested in other aspects of this movie besides the sex scene? If that’s what everybody is talking about before seeing the movie, it’s the reason to see the movie. It might be the sex scene is just the appetizer, not the main course, and I suspect that will be the case. I’m feeling like this is more than the nude artist scene in Titanic with Winslet, though. Much more.

It doesn’t appear that Ammonite will be playing at any AMC theater, but it’s playing at the Galaxy theater in Federal Way, which is not too far away.

May have to see if Kara wants to go check out that theater. She may or may not, going to leave this up to her. Honestly, romance movies are more her cup of tea than mine, but I have liked some romances.

What do you think? Are sex scenes what drive you to watch movies like this? Or are you going for the romance and that requires a good sex scene? All viewpoints are welcome below to discuss this. Just keep it civil, as always.