Rachel McAdams and Rachel Weisz's steamy passionate kiss in 'Disobedience' gets everybody talking
Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams perform a steamy bedroom romp in their new film 'Disobedience' which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on September 10 last year and was released on April 27, 2018 in America. The forbidden love story will be released on DVD on July 17.
The stars are seen passionately kissing in a very intimate scene in the movie where they play lovers who grow up in an extremely conservative Orthodox Jewish community. The lovers hide in a conservative religious circle in order to explore their spiritual identity and sexual freedom while at odds with the society and their families. Directed by Sebastian Lelio (Oscars 2017 winner for 'A Fantastic Woman') has brought viewers an emotionally wrought tale of forbidden love and it is nothing less than an excellent adaptation of Naomi Alderman's novel of the same name which sees two men fall in love and are set apart by the scrutinizing pressure of family.
Weisz plays the role of the rebellious Ronit who is sent to exile by her father after he discovers her sexuality. Ronit returns home after her father's death to reunite with her long-lost love Esti, played by Rachel McAdams, who in the present time of the movie is already married to an up-and-coming congregational leader played by Alessandro Nivola.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the actresses said that the passionate scene in the movie was an integral part of the movie, the very heart of it, and Lelio was particular about it which led them to shoot that scene for an entire day. Weisz mentioned that the scene is "massively important and beautiful".
She explained, "Sebastián storyboarded it precisely a couple weeks before we shot it. He made it clear everything he wanted: the wetness, me spitting in Rachel’s mouth, and [a focus on] Esti’s orgasm — my character [originally] had an orgasm, too, but I had to agree as a producer, even though it was a very good orgasm, it wasn’t as good for the story as Esti’s. At that moment, Esti’s orgasm is both a sexual release and a metaphorical release to freedom, it’s like she’s free to find out who she really is."
The very essence of the scene lies in the fact that it is not something viewers are used to on a conventional note. It certainly wasn't something random and Lelio took care to go on board with the scene and give it his own treatment. McAdams explained on this basis, "Often, you’re trying to decide if it’s gratuitous or not. But this scene felt so integral to the plot and moving the story forward. The characters need this release to open up… There was energy to that scene that I haven’t experienced in any other sex scenes [with men] in my career. There was camaraderie to it. We both felt safe and free…. All those things that you love about being a woman, you get to be with [in the scene], so I understand the attraction and appeal to that in a sexual context."
Weisz, who is expecting a baby with her husband Daniel Craig, said to Indie Wire that the scene where Ronit spits saliva into Esti's tongue was all Lelio's idea. She said, "We were given those musical notes to hit if you like, and we had to fill them up with emotion and longing and desire. We were actors, given a really good, non-objectifying, journey through desire and sexuality...It would be hard to spring that on an actress that day — ‘By the way, I want you to spit...So it was all him. I can’t claim anything apart from acting his sex text.”
The scene actually proved to be a big letting-go moment for the two actors when they absolutely abandoned themselves. Weisz says, "What often happens on sets, and I’ve only done heterosexual love scenes, is they just get naked and improvise...And sexuality is very — it’s like in a film you need good words — you need good gestures, you need good tropes … Within the structure of the scene, we could really abandon ourselves.”
