Bet You Didn’t Know: Secrets Behind The Making Of “Monster’s Ball”

Credit: Lionsgate

The Sex Scene

The sex scene was a huge point of contention for the other actresses. And even for fans today who still discuss the film. But Berry felt it was integral to the plot. She told an interviewer before the film was released:

I’m praying that audiences will be more sophisticated than to reduce this scene in this movie to the level of the scene in Swordfish. I’m hoping that we are a little more sophisticated than that – but you never know. But I’m hoping. They are clearly polar opposites. One was clearly done for shock value and gratuitous and one is the pivotal vital part of the movie. But I think we approached the scene like every other scene that had heavy strong subject matter. From the abuse of the child to the use of the racial slurs, we dealt with it in the same way. To be true to it to be honest to it. Do those uncomfortable things that sometimes do and feel too risky to say. We just opted at every scene to go ahead and do it. Go ahead. Say the N-word. Do it for real like how people really do, don’t make it pretty for Hollywood.