Sex Scenes in Movies Are Back, but They Aren’t Exactly Sexy Sex Scenes in Movies Are Back, but They Aren’t Exactly Sexy

Instead, these moments in “Anora,” “Babygirl,” “Challengers” and more involve complex power dynamics that speak volumes about their characters.

Every so often a tedious debate crops up on social media: Are sex scenes even necessary in movies? Gen Z, we are told, want to see fewer of them. And yet the answer is clear if this awards season’s contenders have anything to say: Yes, sex is crucial to cinema.

The films in the conversation are full of sex. “Anora” revolves around a sex worker, and showing her on the job is central to the narrative. “Babygirl” is all about a woman exploring the desires that she finds shameful. Even “Nosferatu” is largely about sex: Robert Eggers’s retelling of the classic vampire tale centers on the lusts of the undead count’s prey, Ellen.

But none of the sex scenes in these and other recent movies are emotionally clear cut. Whatever titillation they might inspire comes with an asterisk: The directors are using the moments to explore complex power dynamics between characters. These scenes are meant to engender discussion, not arousal. Five in particular do this especially well:

The first half of Sean Baker’s “Anora” plays out, in many ways, like a traditional romantic comedy. A mismatched pair — the sex worker Ani (Mikey Madison) and the oligarch heir Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn) — meets, and then marries after a quick courtship. But their sex scenes are anything but romantic. Instead, they are played almost entirely for comedy. Take the first time Ani goes over to Ivan’s mansion. The sex is transactional — after all, he’s paying for it — but it’s also extremely fast.

Madison set off controversy when she told Variety that she declined to use an intimacy coordinator on set. For an interview with The New York Times she described the work to me more as “sex shots” than sex scenes. This is true to the moment onscreen: The intercourse itself lasts about 10 seconds. Ivan orgasms too quickly and Ani stifles a laugh. The next thing you know, Baker cuts to Ivan turning on the TV. He’s satisfied; for her it’s just another day at the proverbial office. The interaction plays like a gag and the audience is meant to giggle.

Here Baker is establishing the uneven dynamics. Ani is far more experienced sexually, but that can’t make up for the fact that Ivan’s wealth means she is entirely beholden to him. Ani is not aware of this initially, but when the reality of the situation becomes evident in the second half of the movie and Ivan bolts at the first sign of a threat from his parents, she realizes just how little control she has over him.