The sorry state of cinematic sex

The sexiest scene in Adrian Lyne’s new film, Deep Water, starring Ana de Armas and Ben Affleck, may be de Armas eating an apple—a distant echo of the iconic food scene in Lyne’s 9 ½ Weeks (1986). Based on Patricia Highsmith’s 1957 novel, in which an openly adulterous wife suspects her husband of drowning her latest lover, the plot has more to do with power than pleasure.

The 81-year-old Lyne, who hit paydirt with Fatal Attraction (1987) and Indecent Proposal (1993), has re-emerged after a two-decade hiatus since Unfaithful (2002). Sadly, the hotly anticipated return of the erotic thriller is neither erotic nor thrilling, which may explain why it was pulled from theatrical release. Although the lead actors dated after meeting on set, Deep Water douses any chemistry they had off-screen.

If Lyne, with his track record in the genre, shooting de Armas, who has sex appeal in spades, ended up with a flaccid film, what hope do we have for cinematic sex? It may be time to sound a zero-fire alarm: the percentage of feature films containing depictions of sex has been at its lowest since the 1960s.