Florence Pugh’s Oppenheimer sex scene is getting a digital enhancement in certain screenings across the world.
In the film, Pugh, 27, plays Jean Tatlock, the mistress of Cillian Murphy’s J. Robert Oppenheimer. In one steamy scene, Pugh is nude while she and Murphy, 47, are in the middle of passionate lovemaking. However, in parts of the Middle East and India, Pugh dons a CGI black dress, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The outlet reported the scene was censored so the movie would not have to cut to the scene — or ban the picture entirely — in more conservative parts of the world. In the Middle East, nudity is forbidden in films. The same was done for India so it could meet the requirements to have a UA rating, which is acceptable for viewers with parental guidance for children under the age of 12.
Before the change was made, the scene in question stirred up controversy in India. During the sexual moment, Pugh and Murphy’s characters begin discussing books and Pugh hands him the Bhagavad-Gita, which is a Hindu holy text, to read a quote. He recites the infamous quote, “I am become Death, destroyer of worlds,” and continues to make love.
Uday Mahurkar, journalist and founder of the Save Culture Save India Foundation, published an open letter to director Christopher Nolan calling the film’s moment a “direct assault on religious beliefs of a billion tolerant Hindus,” while alleging that Hollywood is more sensitive to depictions of Islam and other religions.
This is the first time Nolan, 52, has included a sex scene in one of his movies. Before the release, the director defended the decision to include details about Oppenheimer’s sex life in the biopic.
“When you look at Oppenheimer’s life and you look at his story, that aspect of his life, the aspect of his sexuality, his way with women, the charm that he exuded, it’s an essential part of his story,” he explained to Insider earlier this month.
Murphy, for his part, spoke out about his scenes with Pugh and defended the moments between their characters.
“Those scenes were written deliberately,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald in a July interview prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike. “[Nolan] knew that those scenes would get the movie the rating that it got. And I think when you see it, it’s so f–king powerful. And they’re not gratuitous. They’re perfect. And Florence is just amazing.”
