Richard Linklater on Why 'Hit Man' Has Such Hot Sex Scenes

We've had a lot of discussions about sex scenes on No Film School. So it's always nice when a huge A-list director makes a movie for adults and decides to add a little spice into the mix.

In a recent interview with The Film Stage, Richard Linklater, director of Hit Man, was asked about the eroticism in the film. He gave a thoughtful answer about why the movie contains some very steamy scenes.

Linklater said, "It’s rare that that becomes a subject that is necessary. Offscreen I would think Jesse and Céline have that same kind of carnal lust; it’s just not when we’re dropping in on them those times. But before and after, it’s definitely going on. So it’s an element. I’m not that interested in showing it explicitly, but in this case the story––I really had to show that carnal desire. If you see Gary’s story going from a dispassionate introvert––an all-in-his-head guy––to a passionate, sexual being, he’s put himself in a very vulnerable spot. That is how you commit. When you jump to that it’s like, ooh. People do crazy things because of sex. People kill people. People kill themselves. It gets volatile. They do illegal shit. That’s the one thing that can drive you crazy in the world: when you’re in that kind of white-heat passion. That’s what a lot of film noirs are based on: the guy who goes down that path. So we’re our own version of that for both those characters, for sure."

It turns out, those sex scenes are part of character development and necessary to see the change in him as a human.

And, it's also a genre convention.

Linklater continued, "But I think we had to show it, too. It felt like an old-fashioned––in a genre sense––movie. As in: ‘80s. There’s an adult movie. They’re fucking. It’s real. These are real things. It’s just not a part of cinema, by and large, right now. The infantilization is complete. The culture that wants us to… you know, when I was a kid––when I was 13––I was watching a lot of adult movies, very intrigued with that world. “Ahh.” I looked forward to it but it was a little scary because it had all these things I hadn’t experienced yet. But I couldn’t wait to be an adult. They seemed smart. They seemed passionate. There was all kinds of fun things awaiting me. And it was through adult movies."

Yes, this R-rated movie is for adults. And in this movie for adults, we're able to see two great starring performances by Glen Powell and Adria Arjona, who get to do adult things.

Adults have been underserved as a demographic for decades. the death of the mid-budget movie has completely taken away the streams of films they could go see in theaters. My hope is that a place like Netflix could bring those back, and that's why I'm rooting for Hit Man. Plus, I find everyone involved to be awesome.

Let me know what you think in the comments.