MovieChat Forums > Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) Discussion > gratuitous sex scenes

gratuitous sex scenes

posted 13 years ago by SusanSp
61 replies | jump to latest

I liked the movie. But, the graphic sexual scenes added absolutely nothing to the story line.

I would have liked to share this movie with my daughter (18), because the underlying story and suspense is great, but, I would be so humiliated to watch this with her, and she with me.

I can't understand why movie makers feel the need to add raunchy sex scenes to their films.

Sure part of the twist was the wife of one brother was having an affair with the other brother. But did we need to see the entire sexual act? We can get the idea without visuals.

[–] lynnviv-1 13 years ago

Had watched maybe a third of the movie when i posted before, now just finished watching the whole movie.

The OP was pretty messed up if she was disturbed by the sex scenes but was cool about watching the cocaine and violence scenes with her 18 yr old daughter.

Talk about straining gnats and swallowing camels (or something like that)!

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ajmpro 13 years ago

I agree that many movies just try to get attention by nudity and sex. And I agree that I do not fully get the point of the explicit sex scene in this movie. But since Sidney Lumet is not just some B-movie-director, I assume that he had a story-relevant motivation in shooting this scene the way he did. Given his accomplishments, I give him the benefit of a doubt.

I am not quite convinced that the reason for the scenes was just to "show more realism" or to show that "everything about the relationships is dirty". I guess there should be something deeper. I could be wrong, though.

And the way I understand the OP, the problem was not so much that the scene may be unsuitable for an 18 year old, but that it is highly uncomfortable for a mother to watch any sex scenes like this with your daughter. I would even say, it is uncomfortable to watch sex scenes with any family members other than your spouse. And yes, to me it is something different than watching a murder in a film. And yes, that says much about our culture.

[–] FuTBoL_HooL 13 years ago

I grew up in Eastern Europe and movies such as Basic Instinct were usually shown at 6pm slot and in winters 4pm because it gets darker earlier and family is sitting in front of a tv. This was in 90ties, well that's when I was growing up but we didn't have ratings back than. My brother always tells me of his first movie experience back in 84 when he was 8 and went with group of friends to see The Terminator. My friends never ban movies from their kids and usually get a weird look from American parents once they tell them 'and we saw basic instinct last night with our daughter'. The usual response from Americans is 'aren't they young for such movies' and their response 'older than us when we saw it back in our country'

I came to America around 14 and the main thing I thought about was porn! We got porn on our state tv after 10pm but it was softcore nothing real. I was surprised that porn is not shown on basic cable and no nudity allowed at all! I was thinking to myself what kind of f-ed up dictatorship country is this...

[–] MoonWolf99 13 years ago

I'm surprised that no one else has mentioned this, but it seems to me that the reason for Andy's impotence was because he was secretly gay. Therefore, the scene at the beginning of the movie had to be explicit to show what type of sex he enjoyed. There's even a scene in the movie where he's trying to pressure Tomei's character into having that type of sex and she's uncomfortable with it. The drug dealer was quite obviously gay and my feeling is that he was not only a drug dealer, but also a high-end male prostitute (thus, the lavish apartment). The reason why Andy shoots the guy at the end is because 1) he reminds him of himself and 2) seeing another "client" makes him jealous. All of this seemed fairly obvious to me, but I guess not to others. Perhaps it was purposely ambiguous so that everyone would have a different interpretation. This is mine.

[–] Bklyn4ever 12 years ago

I agree with Moonwolf that Andy is supposed to be read as a closet homosexual. He visits Justin for the narcotic injection but also because that is his "concubine" (as Asian prostitutes traditionally combined administering of opium with sexual services). When you see him in a posture that resembles male-on-male activity with his wife, and he winds up unable to climax, that is another indication that he is living a lie. One deception necessitates a bigger one, and so on.

That's why Andy doesn't really get angry with his wife over her infidelity. Most men explode over this (in movies especially), but he knows that it's his fault, and he's not that "into" her anyway. However, as Moonwolf notes, finding his male lover with someone else provokes him to murderous rage.

Why is it that in Rio de Janeiro he supposedly can act as a heterosexual and be happy with it? Some sort of eroticism gets projected onto the tropical, Afro-influenced, touristic/hedonistic and sexually permissive Brazilian hotspot. We don't see it happen, probably because of the low budget! Mardi gras/carnaval in Rio involves a lot of cross-dressing and displays of gay sexuality, but why would that make Andy feel OK being a straight man? One of the ambiguous or less-developed aspects of this movie.

[–] franzkabuki 12 years ago

Disagree. There really isn´t as much as a hint that Hoffman receives any sexual favors from that metrosexual dealer... and even IF that were the case, it´s obviously a business transaction & it is not very common, exactly, to get angry over a prostitute servicing other clients as well. And, rather obviously, he doesn´t get worked up over his wife´s infifelity because he has far more pressing problems to worry about.

"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

[–] Nikon11 12 years ago

I'm surprised that no one else has mentioned this, but it seems to me that the reason for Andy's impotence was because he was secretly gay. Therefore, the scene at the beginning of the movie had to be explicit to show what type of sex he enjoyed. There's even a scene in the movie where he's trying to pressure Tomei's character into having that type of sex and she's uncomfortable with it.

When you see him in a posture that resembles male-on-male activity with his wife, and he winds up unable to climax, that is another indication that he is living a lie.

Jaysus H, boys

I know that I'm late to this, but.....what the hell

Unless his wife has a penis, there is nothing gay about doggy-style with a woman. I'm assuming that it wasn't anal here, but, christ, even if it were, it's still with a woman.

No, I'm not going to pretend that I know anything about psychology or have any frame of reference - other than also enjoying having sex with women in that position - but there's not really much to that supporting your theory that he was a closet-gay.

It'd be another thing if she were wearing a strap-on, and doing HIM that way. But it weren't that way at all.

[–] SteveH2002 12 years ago

I'm surprised that no one else has mentioned this, but it seems to me that the reason for Andy's impotence was because he was secretly gay.

Yeah, that was the read I got, too. Plus, at one point Andy (in response to what I forget) says to the Tomei character "Don't ask, don't tell", which I typically associate with the US military policy regarding gays in service.

Also, to the OP, I can sympathize with feeling that a movie has ambushed you when a relatively graphic sex scene occurs. As far as these things go I thought it was tastefully done - the focus of the scene was Hoffman. If it was a gratuitous scene it would have focused on Tomei. And, as someone mentioned, it did establish the sleaziness of their world, and it gave us some clues about Hoffman's character.

Most movies have descriptive ratings nowadays. This is the one for this movie, from Netflix: R A scene of strong graphic sexuality, nudity, violence, drug use and language.

That seems a fair enough warning.

[–] fnm-2 13 years ago

I just watched the movie in a tv channel in Greece but there was no sex scene at all. Is there a different version of the film? This channel doesn't tend to censor movies.

[–] infinity8 12 years ago

The sex scene in this movie was definitely necessary to establish the relationships between characters. The fact that Andy is really happy with the sex in Brazil contrasts with the rest of his relationship; he and his wife never really talk or seem to have anything in common. Andy, a dull, not-particularly-attractive or emotionally-available accountant seems to have married Gina solely on the basis of physical attraction. Gina is not smart like Andy, but she does make him feel needed. For Andy, possessing her (and giving her things that he thinks she wants, like a nice apartment) makes him feel like a real man. That feeling is what he wants to recapture by returning to Brazil. Gina, on the other hand, married Andy because her low self-esteem predisposes her to stay with any man who makes her feel attractive/special. For a while, Andy was able to do this. But she doesn't look like she has that great of a time in bed with Andy in Brazil, and outside of the bedroom, he turns to drugs instead of to her, and he won't tell her how he feels about anything, even when she begs him. But Hank makes her feel wanted, even if only physically. That's why she starts the affair and why she leaves Andy in the end.

In some ways, Andy and Gina are very similar. I'll bet that like Andy, Gina felt very unloved as a child.

[–] onthestreets 12 years ago

I disagree. Why is it that you find the sex scenes uncomfortable to watch, but make no mention of watching people - indeed family members - murder each other in other scenes? You cannot watch this movie with your eighteen year old? She's not a child any more. In fact, how do you think she came in to this world? People really have some strange hang-ups. Sex is the most natural thing in the world, why should it be uncomfortable? Maybe if it was perverted or strange or violent, but I thought the sex scenes were rather well done, unlike in so many movies.

[–] I_Created_U 12 years ago

The question you should ask yourself is not why is there graphic sexual scenes in the movie but rather why can't i watch a light sex scene with my 18 years old daughter?! Humiliated?? Comm' on!
Sex is a part of life and there's nothing to be ashamed of. I guess it's the price to pay for giving her such a prude education...
I watched all kind of movies with my parents and we used to talk about anything, even sex scenes and there was no "humiliation" whatsoever. Taboo and social restrain creates humiliation, not the scene itself.

If it's so unbearable, word of advice: fast forward!

Peace

"People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs"