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‘Sex’ Review: Masculinity Loosens Up in the First Chapter of Dag Johan Haugerud’s Arthouse Trilogy
Two middle-aged family men surprise themselves sexually and psychologically in 'Sex,' a witty, humane conversation-starter from Dag Johan Haugerud.
Following two straight male co-workers as they open up to each other about recent experiences that have challenged their own sexual and gender identities, Haugerud’s sly comedy addresses various crises of modern masculinity with a light, humane touch, finding more curiosity than toxicity in its workaday characters — and making a case for seemingly aberrant desires and impulses as an everyday fact of life. With its loosely discursive quality — it’s clear Haugerud was a novelist before he turned to filmmaking — and measured, good-humored approach to subject matter usually treated with more heated, heightened drama on screen, “Sex” aptly sets the tone for the director’s trilogy of films examining human relationships and intimacy in modern Norway. What emerges from this impulsive act and its fallout, along with his supervisor’s concurrent exploration of a hitherto untapped femininity within him, is a complex but sprightly study of how men wish to be seen, desired and understood in a culture that still places so much emphasis on their own active gaze.
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