‘Poor Creatures’ intimacy coordinator compares orgasm to drug use

Elle McAlpineintimacy coordinator who worked alongside Yorgos Lanthimos in Poor Creaturesrecalled how some of the film’s sex scenes were made and shared his opinion on their relevance in the film’s script Tony McNamara.

In an interview with The Guardian, McAlpine agreed with the director, who has already stated that he never understood “the modesty” surrounding sex in cinema. “We are much more willing to watch a rape than a completely consensual and slightly out of the ordinary sexual scene. What does that say?” he argued.

“I believe there’s a separation between mind and body, often in our society — we’re so cerebral,” he added. For the coordinator, the narrative of Poor Creatures raised a question: “What would happen if we listened to our bodies more? And sex is a massive part of that… You can feel, with orgasm, what people are looking for when using drugs: it’s forgetting — and we’re constantly in search for it.”

The sexual discovery by the character of Emma Stone, Bella, raised debates about the sexism behind the portrayal of sex. Bella’s enthusiasm, a figure with a childlike mentality inside a woman’s body, on the subject was pointed out by critics as a “male fantasy”, for example.

The controversy was established mainly in the second half of the film, when Bella runs out of money and goes to work in a brothel. “The understanding behind the transaction is that it is something she consents to and desires — until she no longer desires it,” he said. McAlpine. The scenes contrast with the “free and fluid” feminine essence that Bella displayed previously, in the view of Elle.

For McAlpinedoing Bella’s sex scenes was a challenge: “This is a child’s mind, in a woman’s body, and we’re doing ‘jump rage’. How does that fit for me, as a human being? I came in to do a job… As an intimacy coordinator, I’m there to serve the vision.”

Contrary to general interpretations of the film, Elle doesn’t see the character stone as a child, but rather as a teenager between 16 and 17 years old. “I think at that point, there’s an autonomy there that I don’t believe kids have. She’s making decisions… I understood where she was in her development, and it didn’t seem too shocking,” she explained.