Diz Que Me Ama

And I'm French... Who wanna see "realistic" sex and relationships problems on screen when you can have lots (and lots, and lots) of them in your real life? Like in a french movie, nobody seems to have (or to need) a job or to care about anything else than their little and meaningless lives. Furthermore, in real life, relationships and sex are directly related to money and job problems and to your social background. Nothing is said in the show about the social aspects of relationships - of course, because otherwise it would never air because it would be truly disturbing. Showing explicit sex (or explicit violence) is always a cheap way for people to pretend that they are "open mind" and "liberal" (like some famous editor of adult content magazines who manages to make everybody forget he's just a pimp). We sure know that in France where 70% of the movies are just soft porn with bad lightening (well, not exactly: the characters have some books in their homes so you can tell you're seeing a "real" movie).

Besides, what's the matter with those women shaved to look like twelve years old little girls or porn "stars"? In Californication there was a very good line about that...

Well, it's difficult to me to understand how people can find this show disturbing. Sadly, they are plenty of more disturbing things in the world. However, if prude people are offended, that's a good point!

"Tell Me You Love Me" represents a watershed event in American entertainment.

There are many of us who have waited for such a series. This is a production that depicts sex as it is. This is entertainment that gives sex the treatment that it deserves. It is a profound type of intimacy --- a type which is guaranteed to repel some viewers from this show.

In the United States, sex is commonly depicted in either one of two ways: as an idyllic, sterile, and clichéd occurrence, which is typically found in movies and television --- or as an avaricious, cheap, and vulgar act, which is the usual portrayal in pornography. Neither of these are representative of sex in the real world.

Now, Cynthia Mort has challenged us to look at what happens in the bedroom without any illusions. It is doubtless that she and her production crew are wondering whether we can handle it. Certainly, there will be viewers who watch the show solely to enjoy all the skin, as well as others who will excoriate it as nothing more than pretentious dirt.

Yet despite its highly graphic depictions, this series is far more concerned with the repercussions of sexual relations in committed relationships. A viewer who loses sight of this fact should question whether one's attention was paid to the whole show or merely to the sex scenes. "Tell Me You Love Me" is not about the sex act itself. It is about what sex means to men and women.

H.L. Mencken wrote that anyone "who afflicts the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood." Hopefully, this is the case for HBO, the production team, and especially the cast of the show. This is a brilliant and courageous achievement --- one which may not be fully appreciated in its own time.

Some people will have heard about this show because of its controversy. I did myself. Admittedly, I was intrigued because of the promise of sexual content on TV - HBO, nonetheless. Having now seen the first episode of "Tell Me You Love Me", I know what the show is actually about.

If you're expecting "porn TV", think again. Yes, the show does have several moments of sexual contact, both oral and intercourse, but when they occur it is anything but arousing - instead it's uncomfortably realistic - down to moments of climax, the show does not flinch from showing the explicit.

But soon enough, if you actually watch the show, you'll realise that this isn't what the show is about. Many people will make the mistake of thinking this show is about sex, but it's about relationships, and how sex is used to shield us from the problems of our relationships.

Three different couples are the focus each dealing with different problems; one tries desperately for a baby, one's physical relationship is intense but unreliable in terms of commitment, and one married couple struggles to deal with the lack of sex in their lives. Both the issues raised in the show and the dialogue are uncannily realistic, to the point that you can't help but compare the relationships in the show with your own, and this can sometimes make for uncomfortable viewing - I'd strongly advise against watching this with your partner.

To speak analogously, Anyone unamused by Tell Me You Love Me just doesn't want to take the deep dive and would rather stay close to shore in shallow water. To those people I say "Your loss!" I WILL BE SHORT HERE.

Given the nature of the sex scenes, I too am genuinely surprised at finding the script and storyline flowing nicely as any HBO show's should. This show makes it's points in evoking our own thoughts and emotions around the issue of love and relationships through the interactions of the character couples. If you can't get by the nudity, then that is unfortunate for you (and paradoxically emphasizes one of the key motifs of the show: HUMAN VULNERABILITY!) Let me reiterate, Right out of the gate, this show is instantly unique for it's no holds-barred depiction of intimacy, but as other reviews suggest: DO NOT LET THIS SWAY YOU. While the sexual choreography is intense, the simultaneous depiction of reality itself (marital freedom, relationship statuses, the burden of children) overshadows the lustiness, creating a truly RAW atmosphere that I personally have yet to see done in television (besides maybe EASY).

The cast truly go balls to the wall in creating brutally real depictions of the phenomena of marriage. Even the slower moments in the anthology of character storylines create a healthy amount of anticipation.

I will keep this review short and just say it is worth giving this show a watch, as there are very few shows with the "extremity through mundanity" that this show has, and it may be AS CLOSE AS WE'LL GET to a a show that accurately depicts the issues of monogamous relationships, and it is weirdly entertaining for it.

I've watched the first two episodes of this series and I truly enjoyed it, and not for the explicit scenes. The drastically different couples all have very deep character profiles that seem to parallel in unexpected ways. If you can look below the surface of being a "glorified porno" like jrpk1964 thinks it is, the true intentions of the show will become apparent. To portray the lives of these couples each with unique situations that all seem to share commonalities which you can relate to.

Overall I wouldn't call this show ground-breaking but it is definitely a well executed drama.