"I Want Your Sex" is the Erotic Thriller We Deserve

The Olivia Wilde renaissance is upon us. After her personal life controversy that weighed down the fairly mediocre Don’t Worry Darling, the actor/director took a four year hiatus before coming back into the spotlight this summer. The box-office success of A24’s The Invite has taken center stage, but the campy erotic thriller I Want Your Sex is an equally delightful display of Wilde’s talent. 

The film opens with a young man named Elliot (Cooper Hoffman) running through a house in women’s lingerie, his nose bleeding. When he gets outside, he finds Erika (Wilde), naked and floating in the pool. She appears dead, and Elliot screams in horror. This sets the basis for the plot of the film, which spans the 9 ½ weeks before the incident intercut with the police interrogation afterwards. 

It turns out Erika and Elliot’s relationship was even more unconventional than their outfit choices might suggest. Erika is a well-known artist who revels in creating provocative multimedia pieces that stretch the boundaries between artwork and pornography. Elliot comes into her life when he is fresh out of college and looking for a job as an assistant. The dynamic is instantly predatory, with Erika making sexual comments in the interview and deciding to have sex with him mere days later.

This isn’t the first workplace erotic thriller to feature an older woman and a younger man, but it’s by far the best. Where Babygirl (2024) flips the power dynamic when it comes to sex, positioning Kidman’s character as submissive enough to blow up her entire life for a man, I Want Your Sex keeps the woman in charge. Gregg Araki understands the inherent subversiveness of the dynamic and allows Erika to emanate power. She is a boss in the boardroom and in bed. Her bitchy, confident demeanor isn’t an act, it’s the way she approaches the world. Her dominance makes the film sexy even as she clearly behaves immorally and takes advantage of her employee. In the police interrogations, Detective Zola (Margaret Cho) serves as the moral voice of clarity, pointing out just how messed up the dynamic was despite the initial appeal it had to both sides.

I Want Your Sex never takes itself too seriously, even when discussing important topics. A long conversation between Erika and Elliot around Gen-Z’s relative sexual aversion is punctuated by Elliot’s vision of Erika naked. In a debate between Elliot and his girlfriend Minerva (Charli xcx), the man switches to seeing her as a cartoon character. Wilde’s acting, too, plays into this campy tone. She plays Erika Tracy somewhere between stereotype and reality, turning her into a larger-than-life icon whose manic energy sucks the audience in just as effectively as it does Elliot. 

Cooper Hoffman, too, is wonderful to watch. Elliot’s chemistry with both Erika and his roommate, Apple (Chase Sui Wonders), brings the film to life. It also serves to emphasize the coldness between Elliot and Minerva in their relationship. As much as this is a story about being groomed and turned into a sub by your boss, it’s also a story about young people finding freedom in sexual exploration. There’s something to be said for new experiences, and while this was most definitely one of the worst ways to have an adventure—a fact punctuated by the easier yet equally creative sex life of Elliot’s work friend—experiences allow people to grow and become themselves. 

Gregg Araki stated that he wanted this film to expose the way Gen-Z is far more prudish than their predecessors. In reality, I think the film hits an even deeper point. Elliot, Apple, and even Minerva desire sexual experiences, but there’s something holding them back. I Want Your Sex is erotic, yes, but the message can just as easily apply to any platonic situation. Fear not only prevents us from living the life we want, but it leaves us vulnerable to the type of manipulation Elliot suffered at the hands of Erika.

Despite the presence of these themes, I Want Your Sex is an incredibly fun erotic thriller that makes great use of its mere 90 minute runtime. Whether you’re looking for a commentary on sex and workplace politics or you just want to watch Olivia Wilde dress in dominatrix gear and slap Cooper Hoffman across the face, this is the movie for you.