Rachel McAdams admits shooting her lesbian sex scene in ‘Disobedience’ was a completely "freeing" experience.
The 40-year-old actress’ new romantic drama focuses on a lesbian affair between two Orthodox Jewish women; Esti – played by McAdams – and Ronit, who is portrayed by Rachel Weisz.
The movie includes nudity and sex scenes, including one visceral and emotional lovemaking sequence between Esti and Ronit, and although the ‘Notebook’ star felt very nervous before the scene she admits it ended up being a "really wonderful day" on set.
In an interview with The Sunday Times’ Style magazine, McAdams said: "[That scene] was so integral to the plot. My character was so penned in that there was something so freeing about being that literally and metaphorically naked … It took us a minute to get started, but it wound up being a really wonderful day."
The film is based on the 2006 debut novel by the British author Naomi Alderman and the ‘About Time’ actress has expressed the importance of the themes explored in the movie, such as the negative impact of strict religious dogma on sexuality.
She said: "It’s so tragic to think that, of all the problems in this world, we make it an issue who you want to love. It drives me nuts."
‘Disobedience’ director Sebastian Lelio previously revealed that he worked very closely with McAdams and Weisz to choreograph the important sex scene.
Lelio said: "That was very organic. It was a long conversation. I always knew that the hotel scene, the big love scene, was the heart of the film. I knew it had to be long. It was all about duration, I mean screen time. At the same time, I really wanted to explore the possibility of portraying a very erotic and urgent encounter without nudity, so how to do that. Then I storyboarded everything, and I presented the idea to them, and we were all in agreement. I had this idea of instead of showing skin we’d find very specific acts that we rarely see on screen or in these kind of films and go for them. That’s why I think that scene has a very particular strong identity."