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Anyone that has ever engaged in a real-life love scene understands what makes a great on-screen moment… right? Actually, that’s about like saying if you speak English, you can jump on a Broadway stage and deliver a great performance of ‘Hamlet.’ The truth is that understanding the anatomy of a “Love Scene” can be much more elusive than enjoying one.

Many people simply classify this type of celluloid moment as a sexual event on the big screen – like the one shared between Mark Wahlberg and Heather Graham in PT Anderson’s Boogie Nights. Similarly, a great number of other people feel love scenes are simply overtly heightened romantic moments, like any number shared between Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in the 2002 hit, The Notebook. Although a case can certainly be made for both, great love scenes effectively blend exciting, passionate moments with a heart-stopping character connection. While these other moments can (and certainly do) exist exclusively, the great scenes find a way heighten their audience’s emotional state through a shared act of passion between two characters.

Sex vs. Love

So, what exactly separates a great love scene from an everyday roll in the hay? The answer, of course, is in the intention. Most films aiming to satisfy through good, old-fashioned sex tend to focus on helping audience members achieve heightened physical arousal. Porno flicks, of course, are the extreme example of this. Guy(s) meets girl(s), and with little or no character development – they get to know each other really well. And while this is the basic crux of most late-night Cinemax films, there are a number of contemporary main-stream flicks that take advantage of this – teen sex champion, American Pie being a prime example. While films such as this tend to mask their intentions with some modicum of character motivation, their basic entertainment goal (or at least part of it) focuses on generating a sexual-based response from their audience. And while this may be enjoyable for those that are old enough to, sex for sex sake doesn’t make a great love scene.

Similarly, there are a number of films that gently dance their way through Hollywood, engaging in elusions of sexual acts, but never fully consummate. For instance, movies such as Sleepless In Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, and well, actually, most of Meg Ryan’s filmography, tend to exploit the romantic aspects of love, without ever delving into the nitty-gritty of on-screen intimacy. And while physical interplay certainly isn’t required to create an enjoyable and successful Romantic film, it’s important to clarify that there is a difference between a “Love Scene” and a movie about love.

The Build Up/Tension

Successful love scenes are like finely tuned pianos - when in-check, they elicit a deeply connected sound that resonates to both the player and the audience. However, when the tension of the chord falls flat, it’s often painfully apparent. And like a piano, one of the keys to eliciting an impacting moment is the continual build-up of tension. Flat love scenes usually fail to properly establish and expand on the chemistry shared between two characters. In other words – a less experienced writer/director will often jump right into the moment, not allowing the audience to journey through the connection of the characters. You may know people like this, as well. In both cases, the connection (or struggle to connect) establishes the intensity of the ultimate pay-off, and usually determines how good it will be.

The tension itself stems from a question as to whether the participating characters will be successful in developing their relationship. Perhaps the best example of this can be found in Pretty Woman. With Vivian, the lead character, working in the sex industry, how were the filmmakers going to create a love scene – which was almost a thematic requirement - that wouldn’t simply feel like work? That’s right; tension - hold it off and build it up. The audience watched as Vivian and Edward established a mutual chemistry through a series of plot-driven trials that continually called into question their ability to accomplish what they were both initially after – sex. And, as a result, the physicality behind their ultimate “big moment” turned out to be much more intense than a simple financial collaboration with physical benefits. In fact, by the time they actually got down to an actual encounter, the conflict between their personalities had the audience so engaged in the relationship that it was much more exciting. As a result, the resulting love scene at the piano would have had little meaning without the characters having time to get to know one another. And, ultimately, this tension-building process elevated their on-screen connectedness past a one-night stand. In turn, the events were that much more engaging.

The Big Moment

This of course leads us into the act, itself -- two people, in front of a camera, pretending to engage in a deeply intimate, human moment. And although it appears to be real, we, the audience, have been successfully tricked by the filmmakers into suspension of disbelief. But this trick isn’t simple – even in reality, you have two humans exposing private moments for the entertainment of millions. But this voyeuristic act is only successful when the actors feel safe enough to commit to the event. Additionally, the director must possess a keen understanding of the thematic limitations of his/her core audience. In other words, while funny love scene like those found in 40 Year Old Virgin may work with males between the ages of 16 and 40, it may not play so well to a female, senior citizen audience.

The effectiveness of this intimacy requires great attention to detail. For instance, Dirty Dancing’s first love scene shrinks the contextual scope of the camera range and drops the audience directly inside Jonny’s small apartment. Additionally, the sequence is layered with moody music, the pattering of rain, and much dimmer lighting. In turn, the filmmakers extracted us from Jonny and Baby’s exterior conflicts and sweep us into their private moment. Combined with an effective build up of tension, the physical presentation of the scene allowed the character connection to be richer and much more fulfilling.

So how do good writers and directors generate these pretend events into something we not only enjoy, but momentarily believe? Effective settings and top production design are a necessity. A great example of this can be noted in the The Constant Gardener. Director Fernando Meirelles paints a beautiful landscape for Ralph Feinnes’ and Rachel Weisz’ characters to discover truly intimate moments. Taking the audience deep into an impoverished world through dynamic camera work and effective story-telling, he helped extract us from our awareness of them as actors and made us believe we possessed a camera-view into their lives and their connectedness. In the earlier love scene just after the class in which they meet – as with the later love scene in the house – the director bonds the emotional battle of the struggles with the physical chemistry shared between them. Using lights and suggestive angles, he takes the audience into the passion of the act – making it so much more than just sex.

Getting Into The Role

To pull all of this off, however, great love scenes require great actors. Beyond having the ability to perform comfortably in their most vulnerable moments, effective performers know how to let an audience share in an intimate exchange between characters. A successful performance usually stems from a skilled combination of relaxed action in the moment, and well… you know… that “thing.” That natural sexiness certain people possess. That combination of looks, confidence, and small wry wrinkle of the brow. That ability to engage both physically and emotionally on camera, on command. George Clooney seems to have it. Angelina Jolie seems to have it. Ewan McGregor – an actor who is notoriously comfortable in his own skin – seems to have it. But how do they get “it”?

Although it is easy to focus on the obvious attractiveness of actors like Halle Berry and Viggo Mortensen, looks are never the defining factor of a great performance. Like a top action star performing his/her own stunts, great love scenes require knowledge, preparation, and flawless execution. Beyond beauty, top romantic actors are aware of how lighting effects their presentation, how to implement subtle facial expressions in order to emit sub-text, and most importantly just how far to go with the actual physicality. Their physical confidence is then heightened by their tonal control of the situation. In other words, their ability to emote the current state of the character, makes us truly believe we are watching a real act between two people. Great movie stars allude to the emotion that we, as an audience, don’t see on-screen. And while the lights are shining and cameras rolling, they must communicate all of this in a single set of movements to millions of fans waiting to be “entertained.”

Great love scenes like those found in The English Patient, Body Heat, and Closer require more than hot couples and a purely physical approach. Like moments in real life, they must touch a deeper emotional chord. And with romance ingrained in almost every movie you see, Hollywood has the anatomy of a love scene down to a science.