SEX -- A Gripping Exploration of Masculinity and Sexuality

Review by Camden Ferrell

Last month, Norwegian writer and director Dag Johan Haugerud released the first movie in a trilogy of films, The Oslo Trilogy. The second movie to be released in this trilogy is SEX, which had its premiere at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival. While there are a handful of tangents that disrupt the film’s momentum, this movie is full of amazing and lengthy dialogue that addresses the unspoken yet complex interaction between masculinity and sexuality in today’s modern society. ​

This movie follows two chimney sweeps who grappled with their roles as men in heterosexual marriages. One of them engages in an impromptu extramarital affair with a man but doesn’t interpret that as having homosexual desires. The other experiences a recurring dream where he presents himself as a woman. Both men experience complex emotions that challenge their status quo and the perspectives they have of themselves and the world. Even if it’s an experience most have likely never had, it’s still a bold and provocative way to force the viewers to join the leads in examining the more hidden and taboo aspects of modern sexuality and the expectations that are imposed through gender norms. 

Haugerud's writing is utterly phenomenal more times than not in this movie. He utilizes lengthy and captivating scenes (one of the first scenes is a nearly ten-minute single take) that allow its characters to freely explore the film’s central themes. It never feels like the movie is fighting to pad its word count; every line feels essential and most importantly natural to the overall flow of the movie. Even when the movie can sometimes lose its way as far as the narrative goes, the dialogue and analysis of the film’s thesis is more than enough to make up for it. 

The movie is led by Thorbjørn Harr and Jan Gunnar Røise, and both men are stellar in their respective roles. They tackle the movie’s nuanced and complex themes with such maturity, and they do it in a way that doesn’t feel preachy. They let the themes explore their characters and not the other way around. They use subtext to allow the more revelatory components of the movie to sneak up on you when you least expect it. Siri Forberg is also a nice highlight in this movie, playing one of the chimney sweep’s wives. Watching her character handle the pain and confusion of her husband’s infidelity is quite enthralling and one of the more impactful aspects of the film. 

The movie has so much working for it, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least mention the disparity in the quality of scenes sometimes. Even though both men had captivating storylines, I found myself far more invested in the infidelity narrative and thought that it almost made the movie feel unbalanced as a result. While the second narrative does pick up steam in the film’s final half, there are some scenes that feel superfluous enough to make me question if this movie needs to be two hours. 

The better of Haugerud’s two movies thus far, SEX is a bold piece of contemporary cinema that challenges societal expectations and the more fluid and abstract concepts of sexuality and identity. It’s mature, provocative, and full of some truly amazing dialogue and performances. While it might resonate more with men, this is a movie that I think everyone should see just for how it tackles the unspoken feelings that have festered beneath the surface of society for so long. 

SEX is in theaters June 13. 

Rating: 4/5