The Serviceable Lick Sent 'Round the World
Some rambling thoughts on That Scene in Scenes From a Marriage
In “The Illiterates,” the fourth episode of Scenes From a Marriage, a remake of the 1973 Swedish series, Jonathan (Oscar Isaac) and Mira (Jessica Chastain) are supposed to sign their divorce settlement agreement and get ready for the movers. The house is full of color-coded boxes: blue for storage, yellow for Jonathan, and red for Mira. Jonathan is eager to sign the paperwork, to get over this last hurdle and move on with his life, but he recognizes Mira’s attempts at stalling so he indulges her. He tells her what a gett is and the ceremony around it. They sit on a green, plastic-wrapped couch that Mira suddenly decided she wanted, the freshly-placed red stickers neatly between them.
By the time he’s finished his explanation, Jonathan has bundled a bemused Mira in his arms. She jokes that this kind of contact would be forbidden based on the gett, and Jonathan reminds her they’re not divorced yet. He rubs his hand along Mira’s thigh, exposed as she leans back against the couch, wondering at what game Jonathan is playing. In the previous episode, Mira tried to seduce him and he refused. Jonathan’s hand continues its attempt at memorizing the shape of her, and when he cups her breast, Mira surrenders. Soon they are gasping into each other’s mouths, their kisses so intense. After some cursory foreplay, Jonathan turns Mira over so that she’s on her knees and he’s behind her on the couch. He knows he hasn’t done enough to warm her up so he licks his hand to apply the slickness he needs to slide inside.
That singular moment has become the gif that set Twitter aflame with thirst… but why?
It is the intensity on his handsome face, the vein between his brows.
It is the raucous waves of hair cresting over his forehead.
It is the erotic filthiness.
It is the memories, the fantasies, the move evokes— a reminder and desire all at once of quickies your body needs a little help with.
This is a show without needle drops. There is no score to soften this scene. We hear clearly the plastic crinkling, the rasp of Jonathan’s hands against Mira’s clothes, the moans pulled from them both. It is sex ASMR. It reminds me of the sensual experience of watching Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat-- a show that seemed to say “You cannot smell, taste, or feel these foods, but do you see? Do you hear?”
You cannot smell, taste, or touch these people, but do you see her red lipstick smudged across her slack mouth? Do you see how his eyes close when he finally enters her? Do you hear the sound of their flesh meeting in instinct, in learned rhythm?
What struck me about the scene, that the out of context gif can’t convey, is how familiar it is. I’ve never been married, but I know what it is to end a relationship with one for the road, so to speak. I know what it is to end a relationship unwillingly yet remain enthralled… and responsive. And I know what it is when someone wants one last moment of control.
The passion of this farewell flames out as quickly as it began. They turn their intimate knowledge of each other into accusations and anger. Jonathan and Mira argue, framed by boxes decorated with red stickers, bright as the lipstick now completely scrubbed from Mira’s face. Just as the episode begins with the couple breathing heavily against each other, so does it end, under much different conditions.
The fact that Oscar Isaac plays Jonathan helps send that gif into the Thirst Hall of Fame. It doesn’t hurt that a moment between him and Jessica Chastain at the Venice Film Festival went viral, giving us a hint of the chemistry they share.
And perhaps it is as simple as being flat out horny. The pandemic has robbed too many of us a certain level of intimacy so we press our faces against pop culture’s bakery window, desperate for a treat.
I’m not yet sure how this newsletter will go, but if you liked this post and want to make a love offering, please consider leaving a tip in the tip jar of my podcast This Is Good for You or becoming a patron of the show.
Or maybe you’d like to make a purchase from my affiliate Bookshop, where you can buy copies of my books: Sometimes I Trip On How Happy We Could Be and Lilith, but Dark.
OR you can simply be a doll and share it.