Scenes of a Sexual Nature (2006)

Sex and love. Some seek it, some need it, some spurn it and some pay for it, but we're all involved in it. Set on one afternoon on Hampstead Heath, London, the film investigates the minutiae of seven couples. What makes us tick?

Director:

Ed Blum

Writer:

Aschlin Ditta

Stars:

Holly Aird, Eileen Atkins, Hugh Bonneville

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Holly Aird	...	Molly
Eileen Atkins	...	Iris
Hugh Bonneville	...	Gerry
Tom Hardy	...	Noel
Douglas Hodge	...	Brian
Adrian Lester	...	Pete
Andrew Lincoln	...	Jamie
Ewan McGregor	...	Billy
Gina McKee	...	Julia
Elle Mckenzie	...	Eve (as Elle McKenzie)
Sophie Okonedo	...	Anna
Eglantine Rembauville-Nicolle	...	Sophie (as Eglantine Rembauville)
Nicholas Sidi	...	Ludo (as Nick Sidi)
Mark Strong	...	Louis
Catherine Tate	...	Sara

Storyline

Various Londeners meet people in Hampstead Heath park. Financial adviser Billy, a successful casual sex seeker, discusses the pros, contras and how of his child-wish. Cheeky Noel innocent pick-up lines lead only to cruelty from girls, once even abandoned jeans on ankles. Gerry's promising blind date picnic ends as abruptly when his business partner turns up, who just agreed a Barbados holiday with his steady girl. Eddie discovers trough a date mix-up that Iris, his ripe age, who come to the same park weekly too but a day earlier, was his prospective mate until they each met their now late partners decades ago. Pete comes settle the end of a marriage that shouldn't have happened except for his daughter.

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Plot Keywords:

white panties | park | one afternoon | casual sex | blind date | 

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Taglines:

Love on the Heath.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Tin Pan Films [UK]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

2006 (UK)

Also Known As:

Cenas de Natureza Sexual

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£260,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tin Pan Films, The Mob Film Company, 5 London Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The makers presented the project to investors a mere two weeks before shooting began, at which point the actors had already signed on with the offer of Equity minimum and a percentage of future profits as their salary. To increase the budget, Ed Blum, the director, re-mortgaged his flat.

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Quotes

[from trailer]
Iris: Other people's lives are fascinating.

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Connections

References Good Neighbors (1975)

User Reviews

Could have been great

Scenes of a Sexual Nature has the makings of a lovely British drama - a more subtle and less schmaltzy version of Love Actually, maybe. Indeed, it has a cast as strong as that of Love Actually - even if less filled with stars - and a wittier, more intelligent script. The terrific writing and wonderful chemistry between the actors (who include Ewan McGregor alongside slightly-lesser-known character actors like Mark Strong, Tom Hardy, Catherine Tate, Eileen Atkins, Andrew Lincoln, Gina McKee and Benjamin Whitrow) make almost every scene a pleasure; whatever the movie has, works.

Unfortunately, it just has too little. There's some hint of a connection between the various stories once or twice, but it feels forced, and there's no real thematic connection either; and because stylistically it's completely plain and simple, there's no stylistic connection either (the kind that works well in Jim Jarmusch films). Which makes the whole movie little more than a series of short skits, most of which don't have any satisfying ending or real message or theme, leaving the viewer unsatisfied and a little bit hollow. There's just no real movie here. It's a decent watch and has some good scenes, but in the end it's more frustrating than it is enjoyable.