Anyone who has ever engaged in a real-life love scene understands what makes for a ‘great’ one on-screen–right? Actually, that’s like saying if you speak English, you can mount a Broadway stage and deliver a masterful “Hamlet.” The truth is that understanding the anatomy of a “Love Scene”–that is, the memorable moments within– can be much more elusive than enjoying one.
Many people simply classify this type of celluloid moment as a sexual event on the big screen–like the edgy one shared between Mark Wahlberg and Heather Graham in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights. Other people simply feel love scenes are overtly heightened romantic moments–like any of the numerous encounters shared between Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in the 2002 hit The Notebook. Although a case can certainly be made for both scenarios, great love scenes effectively blend exciting, passionate moments with a heart-stopping character connection. While these other moments can (and certainly do) exist exclusively, the remarkable scenes find a way heighten their audience’s emotional state through a shared act of passion between two characters.
Sex vs. Love
So, what exactly separates a great love scene from an everyday roll in the hay? The answer, of course, is in the intention. Most films aiming to satisfy hungry audiences through good, old-fashioned sex, tend to focus on helping audience members achieve heightened physical arousal. Porno flicks, of course, are the extreme example of this. Guy(s) meets girl(s), and with little or no character development, they get to know each other well–really well. And while this is the basic crux of most late-night Cinemax films, there are a number of contemporary mainstream flicks that take advantage of this–teen sex champion American Pie being a prime example.
While films such as Pie franchise ones tend to mask their intentions with some modicum of character motivation, their basic entertainment goal (or at least part of it) focuses on generating a sexual-based response from their audience. And while this may be enjoyable for those that are old enough to relate, sex for sex’s sake doesn’t make a great love scene.
Similarly, there are countless films that gently dance their way through Hollywood, engaging in illusions of–and making allusions to–sexual acts, yet never fully consummating them. For instance, movies such as Sleepless In Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, and well, actually, most of Meg Ryan’s filmography, tend to exploit the romantic aspects of love, without ever delving into the nitty-gritty of on-screen intimacy. And while physical interplay certainly isn’t required to create an enjoyable and successful romantic film, it’s important to clarify that there is a difference between a “Love Scene” and a movie about love.
The Build Up/Tension
Successful love scenes are like finely tuned pianos–when in-check, they elicit a deeply connected sound that resonates to both the player and the audience. However, when the tension of the chord falls flat, it’s often painfully apparent. And like a piano, one of the keys to eliciting an impacting moment is the continual build-up of tension. Flat love scenes usually fail to properly establish and expand on the chemistry shared between two characters.
In other words, a less experienced writer/director will often jump right into the moment, not allowing the audience to journey through the connection of the characters. You may know ‘real life’ people like this, who vault too quickly to the peak and miss their mark. In both the successful and failed cases, the connection (or struggle to connect) establishes the intensity of the ultimate pay-off, and usually determines how good it will be.
The tension itself stems from a question as to whether the participating characters will be successful in developing their relationship. Perhaps the best example of this can be found in Pretty Woman. With Julia Roberts’ lead character, Vivian, working in the sex industry, how were the filmmakers going to create a love scene–which was almost a thematic requirement that wouldn’t simply feel like work? That’s right; tension–hold it off and build it up. The audience watched as Vivian and Edward (Richard Gere) established a mutual chemistry through a series of plot-driven trials that continually called into question their ability to accomplish what they were both initially after–sex. And, as a result, the physicality behind their ultimate ‘big moment’ turned out to be much more intense than a simple financial collaboration with physical benefits.
In fact, by the time Vivian and Edward finally got down to an actual encounter, the conflict between their personalities had the audience so engaged in their relationship that it was all the more exciting. The resulting love scene at the piano would have had little meaning without the characters having had time to get to know one another. And, ultimately, this tension-building process elevated their on-screen connectedness past a simple, one-night stand and into the film history journals of ‘model’ romantic comedies.
The Big Moment
This of course leads us into the act, itself–two people, in front of a camera, pretending to engage in a deeply intimate, human moment. And although the scene appears to be real, the truth is that we, the audience, have been tricked successfully by the filmmakers into suspending our disbelief. But this trick isn’t simple, when in reality you have two humans exposing ‘private’ moments for the entertainment of millions. This voyeuristic act is only successfully achieved when the actors feel safe enough to commit to the event. Additionally, the director must possess a keen understanding of the thematic limitations of his/her core audience. In other words, while funny love scene like those found in 40 Year-Old Virgin may work with males between the ages of 16 and 40, it may not play so well to a female, and/or senior citizen audience.
The effectiveness of this intimacy requires great attention to detail. For instance, Dirty Dancing’s first love scene shrinks the contextual scope of the camera range and drops the audience directly inside Johnny’s (Patrick Swayze’s) small apartment. Additionally, the sequence is layered with moody music, the pattering of rain, and much dimmer lighting. In turn, the filmmakers extracted us from Johnny and Baby’s exterior conflicts, and effectively sweep us into their private moment. Combined with an effective build up of tension, the physical presentation of the scene allowed the character connection to be richer and much more fulfilling.
So how do good writers and directors generate these pretend events into something we not only enjoy, but momentarily believe? Effective settings and top production design are a necessity. A great example of this can be noted in The Constant Gardener.
Director Fernando Meirelles paints a beautiful landscape for Ralph Fiennes’ and Rachel Weisz’ characters to discover truly intimate moments. Taking the audience deep into an impoverished world through dynamic camera work and effective storytelling, he helped extract us from our awareness of them as actors and made us believe we possessed a camera-view into their lives and their connectedness. In the earlier love scene, following the class where they meet–just as with the later love scene in the house–the director bonds their emotional battle with the physical chemistry shared between them. Using lights and suggestive angles, he takes the audience into the passion of the act–making it so much more than just ordinary sex.
Getting Into the Role
To pull all of this off, however, ‘great’ love scenes require great actors. Beyond having the ability to perform comfortably in their most vulnerable moments, effective performers know how to let an audience share in an intimate exchange between characters. A successful performance usually stems from a skilled combination of relaxed action ‘in the moment’, and well, you know, that thing. That natural sexiness certain people possess. That combination of looks, confidence and a seductively, wry wrinkle of the brow. That ability to engage both physically and emotionally on camera, on command. George Clooney seems to have it. Angelina Jolie seems to own it. Ewan McGregor–an actor who is notoriously comfortable in his own skin–seems to have it. But how do they get it?
Although it is easy to focus on the obvious attractiveness of actors like Halle Berry and Viggo Mortensen, looks are never the defining factor of a great performance. Like a top action star performing his/her own stunts, great love scenes require knowledge, preparation and flawless execution. Beyond beauty, top romantic actors are aware of how lighting effects their presentation, how to implement subtle facial expressions in order to emit subtext, and most importantly just how far to go with the actual physicality. Their physical confidence is then heightened by their tonal control of the situation. In other words, their ability to emote the current state of their character makes us truly believe we are watching a real act between two people.
Great movie stars allude to the emotion that we, as an audience, don’t see on-screen. And while the lights are shining and cameras rolling, they must communicate all of this in a single set of movements to millions of breathless fans waiting to be ‘entertained’.
So who are some of the greats? Below is a short list of actors–past and present–that have rocked the screen and delivered some of the most exciting on-screen love scenes.
Great love scenes like those found in The English Patient, Body Heat, and Closer require more than hot couples and a purely physical approach. Like moments in real life, they must touch a deeper emotional chord. And with romance ingrained in almost every movie you see, Hollywood has the anatomy of a love scene down to a science.
Ryan Williams has worked in and around the film business for nearly a decade. Having worked for greats such as Sean Connery and MGM-based Trilogy entertainment, he has developed hundreds of screenplays. He currently helps run ScriptShark.com–a Web site devoted to finding talented new writers and introducing them to Hollywood.
