I find it really disturbing that Cate Blanchett, a 37yr old woman at the time, kissed, simulated sex, and simulated oral sex with a 16yr old boy, at the time. Were there body doubles? Why didn't they use a twenty-something year old guy who looked like a 16yr old like with the woman in Hard Candy?
simulated being the word. they were acting. there was a whole crew there. why use someone older? any 16 year old can understand this story...
shareI don't get how can the actors go trough with it, even if it was fake they had to make seem as real as possible wich I think would be something hard to do.
shareNormal acting is hard to do as well. But they're pros.
shareIn about 1/3 of the US states the age of consent is 16 with no age gap provision meaning it woudl b perfectly legal. It was filmed in the UK , where the age of consent is 16m the a same as a canada and about 40% f US states.
The actor actress simulation was legal everywhere in the US, Canada and Europe.
The only thing that would make the portrayed act illegal in some places is the fact that Blanchet's character has a position of authority over the student. So it is the depiction of an unethical act illegal in some places.
I find it funny the OP gives positive comments on films depicting murder and mayhem, yet has a problem with a film depicting a legal albeit unethical act?
Should the bible be made illegal because it depicts many of its heros committing murder, genocide and having sexual relation with people under 15?
I have no clue why you're replying to me, simply stating that normal acting is hard to do.
Sleeping with your students is also illegal in many places. You may find it funny the OP enjoys action films, while unethical sex is 'disturbing', but there are also people who is the opposite.
Learn to live with it, I say. People on the internet rarely listens to reason (at least in the most public of places).
I will say that books and movies are not the same, so comparing it as such would be problematic. Neither should be banned, as there shouldn't be restrictions on fiction (that are lawful, of course).
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your spelling makes me laugh oie voce Are you in jr high? it's through and which
suzycreamcheese RIP Heath Ledger 1979-2008
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I'm surprised you didn't say it was sick! However you're sick if you think a 16 year old is going to be corrupted on a film set whilst acting out a sex scene with a brilliant hollywood star, in many ways every 16 year old's dream!
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I af 37 year old teacher looking like Blanchett had blown me when I was sixteen I'd still be smiling.
shareHowever you're sick if you think a 16 year old is going to be corrupted on a film set whilst acting out a sex scene with a brilliant hollywood star, in many ways every 16 year old's dream!
Yeah, I'm sure the 16 year old actor's boner was simulated during that scene. Tell me that didn't give him masturbation material for years to come! Lucky guy.
share1. The age of consent in the UK is 16 years, so simulated or otherwise, it was perfectly legal and ok.
2. I'm sure any young man, 16 and up, would give his nunchuks to get down and dirty with Cate, simulated or otherwise.. she's stunning and at 37, she's in her prime.. get over it.
I find it really disturbing that you find it disturbing.
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I totally agree. The threadstarter must be from the U.S. Let me guess which state?
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hahah well said
shareLike a New England Catholic Priest, right?
shareOR you sound like you think sex with children is okay. Which is it ?
shareMy post speaks for itself. No, I don't think sex with children is "okay." But I don't define a 16 year old as a "child," but as a "teenager." Teenagers have sex. Maybe they shouldn't. Certainly they shouldn't with adults.
All I'm saying is, there was a time, not so long ago, when this would be a non-issue.
15 is legal in my country (Sweden) as well as in many other countrys. You'r not a pedophile for being attracted to an adolescent - your a pedophile if you are attracted to someone who is prepubescent.
Get your facts in order, please.
*countries
*You're
*you're
*if you have intercourse with someone who is prepubescent.
Get your spelling and facts in order, please.
Mark, where is your punctuation? Isn't it funny that grammar Nazis like you make the most grammar and usage mistakes?
shareMy sentences had correct punctuation. The places I'm assuming you mean to require punctuation is the corrections. You're wrong, since I corrected a word which was misspelled and that word was not preceding a dot.
Also, I was imitating the guy, to whom I replied, as he was attempting to correct a previous poster.
Yet funnier is it, an imbecile is going to come here and waste both your own, as well as my time. I don't really care if people wish to type without punctuation and with slang (not that this was the exact case of he I replied to), but they should not attempt to correct people if they're indeed wrong themselves.
So how about you skip along and find something useful to do. Alas, you seem to waste more of people's time than you spend doing something productive.
You are aware that you're replying to someone whose first language is not English?
shareIs it really necessary to malign an entire country of people just because one person holds a different view than you?
shareTCOFamily: Now let's try it with one 37 year old man, kissing, and simulated f--king a 16 year old boy! Sounds okay to you Brits, much better doesn't it? No frigging deal is it just acting. Shall we try the same scenario with two females of corresponding ages? Just acting? I don't mind the relative ages of the characters, that's fine. That is an integral part of the story. That is part of the point the story tries to make vis-a-vis Sheba and her husband. They could have used a boy who was 18 playing 15, that by the way is ACTING! If sixteen is the age of consent in Britain, perhaps they should have limited the film to only a release in Britain?
The movie is superb. The issue of the actor's age still remains a relevant one.
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"TCOFamily: Now let's try it with one 37 year old man, kissing, and simulated f--king a 16 year old boy!"
WTF does that mean - johnrupertg criticizes my English and writes a meanignless sentence like this.
Don't listen to him... he thinks people are paid to post on message boards for a living.
He's clearly some kind of failed writer with issues. Either that or a frustrated middle school english teacher.
Choose your signature quotes carefully…. They could be misinterpreted (you moron).- drwho
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Uh, so which is it? A superb movie, OR is it a relevant issue??? I can't see how, IF you Truly think it a relevant issue, and by the way, if you're going there, then the film set must have been some kind of perversely executed experiment in the simulation of pederasty. If you're prepared to make that argument, then HOW--PRAY, TELL!--DID YOU COME TO YOUR SCHIZOID SPLIT CONCLUSION THAT IT IS ALSO A SUPERB MOVIE???
AND, OH YEAH...I HAVE A CONFESSION...WHEN I (sniffsniff) was a 16 year old high school student...give me a second...oh, god...I shudder to think back to that nightmarishly hot substitute teacher, whom I, as well as the rest of my friends, just DREADED the thought of laying!
Trust me...speaking as a heterosexual guy who was once a high-school going lad...I can still remember my sophomore year World History teacher, who I will call "Mrs. Elrond." Mrs. Elrond's male students, including myself, were no younger than fifteen/no older than sixteen. Mrs. Elrond was the drop dead sexiest 45 year old woman I'll probably ever see in my life. Fact: I and every one of my friends in that class dreamed...NO, PRAYED daily...for seduction at the hands of this woman-thirty years our senior. Fact: there is nothing more exciting to a sixteen year old boy, than to have a gorgeously mature, knowingly in charge, woman of authority with more years of experience in the art of sexually dominating guys half her age than he's even been alive, to stare in his eyes, and proceed with the calm of a hurricane's eye to tell him EXACTLY what he's going to do, EXACTLY how he's going to do it, & EXACTLY who he is going to do it FOR, and FACT: that SAME sixteen year-old, wILL, unequivocally, BEG for MORE.
I wonder if you're an S&M fan now. LOL
shareNot all of us from the U.S. feel that I way. I thought it was tastefully done. I see nothing wrong it. It was just acting.
shareNow what the hell does being from the U.S. have to do with this?
Arrogant *beep* prick.
Go ahead smart guy, guess which state?
Haha, you nailed that one!!
"Love is a force of nature"
It was not disturbing. In the UK the age of consent is 16-years-old. So simulated sex was well within the legal parameters. There was nothing distrubing about it. The only distrubing thing was that she was sleeping with a student and cheating on her husband with said student.
Do you have love for your girl New York?share
And this is one tiny reason of a myriad of reasons why Britannia no longer rules diddly-squat.
An Empire no more. A people with a great future BEHIND them.
Socialist whiners who produce nothing.
"Guns don't kill people, I kill people."
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The production company would have had to uphold all union and legal rules in the simulated sequences.
share16 is the legal age of consent in the UK. On top of that, at 16 you can:
Leave school
Go out to work
Get married
Have a family
Join the armed forces, get sent to war zones and possibly die for your country
Why is it so "obv"ious that the film would have a male teacher? Is it impossible for a movie to have an elder teacher having a affair with her 15-year-old female student?
Obv you missed the whole point of the movie
What is a diddly-squat? Can I own one?
shareWhat a total *beep* idiot!!!
shareMay I remind you which nation produced this film that we're all talking about!
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<<It was not disturbing. In the UK the age of consent is 16-years-old. So simulated sex was well within the legal parameters. There was nothing distrubing about it. The only distrubing thing was that she was sleeping with a student and cheating on her husband with said student.>>
be that as it may, let's face facts here, shall we?: a 16-year old is still a child in terms of psychological maturity. just because the plumbing's in, doesn't mean it should be used just yet. sexual relations require a certain degree of emotional sophistication and maturity which a 15 and even a 16-year old clearly lacks. hence, even a 16-year old has to be viewed as being 'used' and 'abused' when engaging in sex with an older man or woman, because the 15 or 16-year old is not yet mature enough to grasp the full implications of his or her actions.
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<<Are you saying that Andrew Simpson was being abused on the set of the movie or that his character was abused. Or both? Just asking.>>
steven was definitely being sexually and psychologically 'abused' in the film by the older school teacher lacking an ounce of self-restraint, self-respect or morality. andrew was not being abused necessarily as it was all just simulation, though i must admit that having such a young actor play these extremely risque scenes with a woman old enough to be his grandmother was pretty creepy.
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I agree it was creepy at first, but it faded away mainly because the director did not make that the focus of the movie. This wasn't a movie designed solely to shock the viewer because of this age difference in sex.
Also, I know this is a moot arguement because Steven was so young, but maybe it wasnt as creepy because he seemed to be seducing her. Think about it, she's trying to get away, but he's trying to get to her. This doesn't justify anything, it's just a different view or something.
Well I thought it was...nice...
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It always cracks me up when people write on boards about sex scenes. Trust me, there is absolutely nothing sexual or exciting about shooting them. Very clinical and not at all exciting.
While credit to the filmmakers for getting you so disturbed, chances are it was "no biggie" at the time. Tho Cate has said in interviews that it was disturbing for her to shoot those scenes, I think she means (knowing the kind of actress she is), that it was hard to shoot them and not judge her character as immoral.
And yes, 16 is the age of consent in England, so legally it was fine.
Finally -- let's not forget that not so long ago, it was not that odd to have sex at such an early age. Hell, my mother got married at 16 (no, she was not pregnant, just in love). And my dad's mother married his father at age 14. There was a time when it was not as taboo as it is today.
I'm not saying it shouldn't be taboo -- but just that its only recently become as taboo as it is.
Old enough to be his grandmother? Maybe in pre-historic times. Cate Blanchett is 37, minus 16 years is 21, so what age exactly is her child supposed to have had a child that would make Cate Blanchett old enough to be his grandmother?!?
shareflip flop genders here and you see why it is disturbing....ie: 15 year old girl with 37 year old man, worst double standard there is.....
shareThis reminds me of Lolita, the recent adaptation with Jermey Irons and Dominique Swain. She was under 18 when the film was being made, so they used a body double for the sex scenes...Ironic, they would use body doubles for a underage women, but not for an underage male. Then again, the sex scenes in Lolita were pretty steamy, noting like the ones in NOS....Oh well, there you have it, the old double standard...
shareif he was abused, then why was he the one who ended everything? why was he the one who followed Cate Blanchett and seducted her? he started it, he ended it. he was more in control of the situation than Cate the whole time...
share"andrew was not being abused necessarily as it was all just simulation, though i must admit that having such a young actor play these extremely risque scenes with a woman old enough to be his grandmother was pretty creepy."
Old enough to be his grandmother...Cate Blanchett was 37, Andrew Simpson was 16. In order for this to work, Andrew Simpson's mother and grandmother must have each conceived children around the age of 10.
Woo hoo! Flipped the argument on you, sucka! Now you're the pervert!
See how much more fun these discussions are when we nitpick at minor details?
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Your right, let us all repent, the human body is not suppoed to have sex at 16!
.. I think...
Or is it SUPPOSED to?
I always get those two confused...
Generalising 16 year old kids as "children in terms of psychological maturity" seems a bit vague... Yes, there are kids who instead of making important choices about their future, the most important choice they're making is what form of drug or alcohol to take, there are some people in the world who have had to grow up quickly.
Basically, just because a person's 15 or 16, you can't use that as a way of judging what someone's like mentally - we're all different, and simply generalising them as "the victim" seems to give the impression that even if it was a mutual mistake, the youth can still "get away with it". Perhaps its the same with the media often commenting on how the intoxicated 19 year old driver was a victim instead of the family of four who were also killed in a car crash for example.
PS: I'm 17
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Hmm... never really saw it like that. Thanks though =]
shareWow. We got some closeted halfwits here today.
"be that as it may, let's face facts here, shall we?: a 16-year old is still a child in terms of psychological maturity."
No, they are not. That is why the age of sexual consent is 16. Precisely because they are an adult, and mature enough to decide on such matters. A person, at the age of 16, at the very least, who is unable to function in a mature and rational manner is not only infantile, but possibly retarded and dangerous to society. I was sexually active by 16, and employed, and living on my own by 17. To think that a professional actor, who legally could sleep with Cate Blanchette if the situation arised, is somehow going to be harmed by simulating fairly mundane heavy petting with her speaks volumes about the immaturity of the person who is concerned for his welfare.
That kid was having the time of his life. He's got some great stories to tell now.
You people need to get out more. Half of you sound like 60 year old women.
I wish I had had some experiences that interesting when I was 16. I had a boring unadventurous time back then and wish I had some stories to tell and risky things to look back on.
let's be honest...there is a double standard here. the reality is boys are more capable of handling sexual situations as teenagers without them having a lasting traumatic effect..ESPECIALLY, in a movie...where he's pretending to bone Cate Blanchett....I cant see this kid at 29 becomming a Meth Addict due to Notes on a Scandal.
i dont mean gay like homosexual...i mean gay like retarded.
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Yeah, that kinda creeped me out too. If that were my son, although I knew they were acting, I would still have a hard time not smacking the woman. I noticed, though, that in certain parts, it seemed they may have used a body double. Like in the first sex scene by the train tracks, they didn't show Cate Blanchett's face, as well as the scene in the art room. I also noticed when he made sexual comments to her, they didn't show his face. So anyway, I took comfort in that. Also, if Andrew was 16 at the time and it agrees with the UK's laws of consent, then I say all's well that ends well. It's better than Mexico's age of consent at 14. <shudder> Now that I have a child, I think they should all be raised to 21. =)
shareOr you could raise your kid well so you don't have to worry about it.
shareSomehow I think he'll recover. Now, watching the evening news on the other hand...THAT can be traumatizing!
shareInteresting. I too was unnerved by how young the actor looked, and to know he was just sixteen does fuel the discomfort. However, it only makes me think about young Dakota Fanning, who filmed a rape scene for an upcoming movie.
God only knows how traumatic a movie scene can be for a young person. I personally hope the young actor was mature enough to emotionally handle what was happening.
And I wonder how Fanning coped as well.
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"You! Cake or death!"
"Cake please."
"Very well...give him cake."
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What I find ironic is that if this had been a horror movie (although in a sense it is) and CB had disemboweled the boy instead of simulated sex with him, this would not even be am imdb discussion topic. You Americans are so repressed about sex it's beyond ludicrous and maybe that's why you have to find an outlet for all that frustration with extreme violence.
shareTrust me, if Sheba was a cat instead of a person, and she'd been put to death for attacking a 15 year old boy, people would be in an uproar as well, so it's not just sex that gets them all worked up.
This sucks worse than I Heart Huckabees ----Stewie Griffin
Americans, in general, aren't immoral. We're just careful. Do you really think it's ok for a 37 yr. old and a 16 yr. old to engage in a sexual relationship? If so, to each his own. When your child comes home with someone over TWICE his/her age I want to see you view that realtionship as objectively and openly as you're doing now. Most Americans do not/will not see it that way. That's why it may be a little shocking for some people to see them doing what they were doing. I'm so sick of non-Americans claiming that they know evey American from one babbling-Texan idiot. For the most part, we're a modest country. We don't use nudity in commercials, extreme foul-language on network tv, or see a mother-figure banging someone young enough to be her son. It's just a different way of doing things. Not BETTER or WORSE, just different. It has nothing to do with morality. Porn is readily available, not just in America you numb-nut, but in SEVERAL different countries AND over the internet. But something tells me you already know that. Almost all MEN cheat. Gay, straight, black, white, old, young...it doesn't matter...we ALL do! Not just American men and I want to read your research on this "fact" that American men cheat more than any other. And as for the killing in Iraq, the majority of Americans actually want our troops to come home. We know it's a senseless war(and so does Bush), but what can we do about it? Go over there and bring them back ourselves? You're a hot-ass mess for trying to talk about Americans as a whole being immoral. Next time, make your argument less one-sided. You're generalizing the word American and referring to ALL Americans when you really only need to reference the one your talking to. You can't possibly know every American to know their opinion on this subject. Personally, I really didn't give two *beep* about what they were doing. It was a good movie.
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This is a major hijacking of this thread, and it's in poor taste to mix political views into a discussion of cinematic viewpoints.
Having said that, I feel I must correct you on one point: "Americans" as a whole and collective unit did not unanimously re-elect the current president - some 49% of us cried late on election night as the polls swung in his favor, some of us despaired into our morning coffee over how we could possibly survive another four years with him in office. Another 13% of the population who voted for him have come to bitterly regret their vote.
Casting aspersions onto an entire populace for the actions of its constituents is irresponsible and disgustingly vapid and shallow-minded.
[And, O The Irony that your list of top movies contains several films portraying incredible violence and hyper-sexualization.]
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"Movies are not a reflection of real life." do you really mean that? art always reflects real life, therefore it is art.
shareHey, Threadjacker:
"Most men cheat on their wives"
Really? Are you saying a majority of married U.S. males are having extramarital sex? Any chance of you posting a source of that?
/Curious Non-American
I also find it disturbing that you find it disturbing.
sharei posted a similer thingy about it like the age difference in real life...and i guess while it may be easy to think of it like 'ooh perverted molester' from what i hear all guys wouldnt mind making out with cate blanchett anyway. at any age. i guess she is pretty.
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