Explicit, foreplay-to-orgasm sexual screen-time seems to have saturated the entire R-rated genre. Buried amongst the tangle of nude flesh, however, are those gems of scenes that go beyond headboard-banging to find some true emotion, sensuality or storyline hidden within the characters' primal instincts. Here are a few favorites.
Eyes Wide Shut
The electrifying moments between Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in Kubrick's tiresome final film are stunning enough to be stand-alone art. When the two make out nude in front of a mirror, the thrill goes far beyond seeing a real-life husband and wife go at it. Cruise's hands seek to conquer his wife, to affirm that she wants him as he wants her. She gazes distractedly at their reflection, more preoccupied by his desire than the experience. As his ego crumbles in the face of her indifference, the unraveling of their lives begins.
The Chase
Fleeing from the police, accidental kidnapper (Charlie Sheen) and indignant hostage (Kristy Swanson) first bicker with one another, then find common ground in their desperation to escape the life fate has handed them. At 90 mph, the two make PG-13 love in the front seat of his stolen car. Their shy kisses in between swerves, as the sirens roar behind them and the sun sets ahead, are everything a sex scene should be--no nudity necessary.
Monster's Ball
An a poignant yet utterly unromantic scene, Halle Barry desperately propositions Billy Bob Thornton, imploring "I just want to feel good." As they drunkenly grope in the darkened room, they cling to one another like lifelines pulling them back from the edge of madness. Sex is a drug, an escape, a ritual of release like self-mutilation.
In other scenes, it's the implication that makes us sweat.
Unfaithful
Aboard a subway train on the way home from her first-time foray into adultery, Diane Lane loses herself in thoughts of both the pleasure and the shame of her actions. Leaning her head against a window, she traces her fingers over her collarbone, remembering her lover's touch. We've already seen the clothes fly, but somehow, reliving the moment through her eyes is more revealing.
Bound
"That's funny, I'm feeling a bit curious myself," remarks Jennifer Tilly moments before she asks fix-it woman Gina Gershon to touch the tattoo on the curve of her cleavage. Tilly then takes Gershon's hand and guides it under her skirt, as the camera switches to close-ups of the their mouths, millimeters apart. Although later in the movie comes the full-out lesbian sex scene men dream about, this moment of unrestrained passion is ultimately sexier.
Great Expectations
After running into his childhood love (Gwyneth Paltrow) for the first time in years, budding artist Ethan Hawke eagerly accepts her offer to pose for him... nude. As he feverishly sketches what he yearns to possess, his fingertips -- smudging the chalk lines that make up the crease of her thigh, the tip of her breast -- linger just long enough to feel her skin through the page. And nothing could be hotter.
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