The cast of 'Disobedience' re-united to chat about the love story between the two leading female characters in the film, played by 'Rachel McAdams' and 'Rachel Weisz'. After having already seen the film at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), many critics take their gloves off to the actresses for the lesbian sex scene that lasts six minutes.
Screencrush have dubbed the act, "the best sex scene in years", whilst Indiewire's Eric Kohn called it, "the wildest sex scene of the year". The film focuses on Esti Kuperman and Ronit Krushka, secret lovers during their teenage years who find one another again as adults. Kohn continued that it was, "one of the buzziest sex scenes of any movie this year". Despite the buzz around the film, after its premiere in Toronto, the film has become known as "the movie where Rachel Weisz spits in Rachel McAdams' mouth."
Rachel Weisz plays Ronit, who, after the death of her rabbi father, returns home to her Orthodox Jewish town in North London where she re-encounters Esti (Rachel McAdams). It's not long before the feelings shared between the two as teenagers gradually return. The film has captured the attention of many at TIFF not least because of the unravelling passion between the two leads. According to Vanity Fair however, the actresses share "too few" passionate scenes.
The emotional peak in the film comes when the protagonists find themselves alone together. The two kiss beneath warm lighting in a scene already established as one of the most erotic and unforgettable on the big screen.
"The two drink each other in again, but this time with unhindered relish, McAdams's Esti groaning as Weisz's Ronit undoes the crotch of her bodysuit with her teeth, Esti searching every contour of Ronit's mouth with her tongue", explained Vulture. "Esti searching every contour of Ronit's mouth with her tongue, then the ecstasy as they each reach inside the other's underpants. They are simultaneously ravenous and exquisitely thorough. Though the moment almost everyone will be talking about will be when Weisz straddles McAdams and gently spits into her mouth, as McAdams eagerly receives it and asks for more, and more again."
Pleasure without the male gaze
Those that have seen 'Disobedience' agree that the film is a powerful, sensual and beautiful portrayal of female sexual liberation and love. Sebastián Lelio and Rebecca Lenkiewicz adapted the novel by Naomi Alderman in order to create a script that pushes the boundaries, allowing women to have sex on screen without being judged.
"Someone called it 'Jew is the Warmest Color', but I think ours is a little less problematic", Lelio mentioned to Indiewire, with reference to 'Blue is the Warmest Colour' by Abdellatif Kechiche. The latter film caused controversy because it featured a lesbian sex scene deemed exhibitionist and inappropriate, since it was created for male satisfaction.
The response to 'Disobedience' is more positive however; "Lelio's scene is far more coy about its reveals, focusing more on the women's faces as they moan with pleasure. Notwithstanding the fleeting shot of spit flying from one woman's mouth to the other, it's a fairly subdued, romantic snapshot of lesbian lovemaking. (Already, the scene has received accolades for its sensitivity)", states Indiewire. According to Variety, the scene "manages to be explicit without suggesting male-gaze voyeurism is the primary force lurking behind it".
"Beautifully acted by Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams and Alessandro Nivola as the three points of a melancholy romantic triangle, this is a deeply felt drama that exerts a powerful grip", wrote The Hollywood Reporter in a more positive review. The Guardian also has a similar outlook: "This is richly satisfying and powerfully acted work." For Screen Daily, "The screen version of Naomi Alderman's 2006 novel is a measured, sombre production sure to attract attention for the absorbing central drama and the nuanced performances from Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams."
