![24th Jan: Encounter (2018), Limited Series [TV-14] (6.8/10)](https://occ-0-953-999.1.nflxso.net/dnm/api/v6/Qs00mKCpRvrkl3HZAN5KwEL1kpE/AAAABVoTO7EMsrFqCLuTVsakbZMh3UYvsEPxDyNj4Iw4FHxDDs4ay4jytGqjY0zviqkK4rqXFE-JKbFay64V1kGzM3OnLa0sapuXMMCNYT8ojOhcblz9j5F_Keb-r5Lm_Uc4NgtMwtRO8BV-IO-H0UWojG_kXYzuW0jk5r_TwhO-LGDahw.jpg?r=a28 "24th Jan: Encounter (2018), Limited Series [TV-14] (6.8/10)")
PLOT: A young man (Cooper Hoffman) takes a job working as an assistant to an infamous, sexually charged contemporary artist (Olivia Wilde). Overwhelmingly attracted to her, he’s stunned when she proposes a kinky sexual relationship in which he’ll be her unquestioning submissive.
REVIEW: Gregg Araki’s first feature in twelve years is a return to the more accessibly comic vibe of his underrated Smiley Face. While the subject matter could have been heady, Araki, who’s always been fearless in his portrayal of sexual norms and matters of consent, has fun with the premise. A scathing satire of the way some Gen Zers seem utterly uncomfortable with the idea of sex—at least in the straight community (for evidence, look at the complete lack of sex in most modern movies)—Araki’s movie takes no prisoners. But judging from the laughs at the Sundance premiere, rather than being put off, the young audience seemed to be with him right from the get-go.
It marks a comeback for Olivia Wilde, who—outside of playing herself in The Studio—seems to have been laying low in the wake of her divisive Don’t Worry Darling. This is a big year for her at Sundance, with her starring in this but also starring in and directing another star-studded title, The Invite. No doubt I Want Your Sex will be somewhat more niche, but she delivers a fearless performance as Erika Tracy. Sexy, conniving, cruel, but also beguiling, it’s the kind of part someone like Sharon Stone might have played in the nineties, and she’s a knockout in one of the juiciest roles she’s ever been allowed to play.
Araki goes places a lot of others wouldn’t have dared, with the idea of Erika grooming the younger Elliot, as played by Cooper Hoffman, laughed off early on in the film. After all, what straight young man wouldn’t jump at the opportunity of a sexual relationship with someone like Erika? Yet the movie also pulls no punches in Elliot’s debasement, with it going into territory that flirts with a potential NC-17 rating, although Araki cuts away more often than he would have back in his Doom Generation days—perhaps a nod to the fact that, ultimately, this is meant to be a crowd-friendly movie. Funny, this seems to be the year of sub/dom relationships in movies, with A24 already about to release the similarly themed Pillion.
Hoffman is amusing as the aimless grad Elliot, who has a vague major (New Media) and no real plans for a career beyond maybe one day starting a podcast about something. He plays Elliot as naive, but he’s also hilarious in the early scenes with Erika, where it’s clear he can’t believe how good his luck is—although Araki also uses him to sneak in some acknowledgement of how, to many, sex can indeed become a drug, and one that’s hard to quit. Even though Erika is awful, Elliot can’t stay away—and you get it.
Araki’s also put together a good cast, with Mason Gooding a hoot as another assistant of Erika’s, an openly gay trust-fund baby who has some of the movie’s best lines (“You don’t have a trust fund? Are you an orphan?”). Chase Sui Wonders is also sweet and likable as Elliot’s best friend and roommate, who joins him for a misguided erotic adventure with Erika at one point, while Charli XCX has a fun part as Elliot’s cold fish girlfriend, Minerva.
As with virtually everything Araki has ever made, I Want Your Sex is not for everyone, in that it deliberately pushes buttons in order to get a reaction. But it also feels like a movie many will get a kick out of, as there are some legitimately solid belly laughs sprinkled in. It’s also somewhat bold in how willing—and even eager—it is to offend certain sensibilities, and in that way it feels like a bit of a throwback to the more provocative early days of Sundance. My only complaint is how can you title a movie I Want Your Sex and not play the classic George Michael song? For shame!
