Analyzing Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner’s ‘One Night Only’

Sex is natural, sex is good / Not everybody does it / but everybody should. This sentiment reflects the idea that sex need not be shameful or rigid. It can be a source of fun and freedom. This spirit seems evident in this summer’s movie season with comedies like I Want Your Sex and The Invite, which embrace unconventional sexuality. This week offers more films centered on desire, including Jane Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma and Will Gluck’s controversial One Night Only.

One Night Only features Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner in a unique dystopian love story. It portrays New Yorkers meeting awkwardly during the yearly 12-hour period when pre-marital sex is legal. The country, three years into this mandate, enforces this through biosensors that indicate relationship status. The premise could delve into issues like policing women’s and queer bodies or Gen Z’s supposed aversion to sex. However, it mostly avoids these discussions, leaving many questions unanswered. For example, how do visitors from abroad or queer individuals fit into this world?

The film only subtly resists the mandates, and characters who defy the law are portrayed negatively. It suggests that forced celibacy might encourage people to be intentional about their choices. Yet, it overlooks issues like compelling couples to marry for legal sex. The script’s humor falters, and Barbaro and Turner lack chemistry, undermining the dystopian and romantic aspects.

This release coincides with Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, offering a different approach to sexual anxiety. It follows Kris, played by Hannah Einbinder, who aims to reboot a horror franchise that influenced her awakening. The film uses this fictional backdrop to explore internalized judgment and sexual desires.

Kris seeks Billy Presley, a reclusive former star with whom she shares a dynamic less antagonistic than Sunset Boulevard. It’s more erotic, with Kris channeling suppressed desires into filmmaking and fantasy obsession. Their chemistry is alluring, and Schoenbrun’s work draws on film theory and gender studies, avoiding didacticism. The film’s expression of sexual exploration is complex and sincere.

Schoenbrun’s previous movie, I Saw the TV Glow, reflected the struggle between societal norms and personal misery. Teenage Sex and Death, conceived post-transition, offers a fresh perspective visually and conceptually. The production design pays homage to classic cinema and showcases a mix of desire and powerlessness.

This tale is perfect for the current moment, being progressive amid societal challenges to intellectual rigor. It stands in contrast to One Night Only, which is timely yet retrograde concerning sex. These films represent art that challenges repression while some art might reinforce it. Their simultaneous release presents an intriguing juxtaposition.