The 365 Days Boat Scene Almost Made Me Turn The Movie Off — The Controversy, Explained

While erotic thrillers, like Babygirl, are becoming increasingly sex-positive, there are many that are still very problematic, with the 2020 Netflix film 365 Days immediately springing to mind. Based on the novel by Blanka Lipińska, the Polish movie stars Michele Morrone as Massimo Torricelli, a mafia boss who kidnaps a woman named Laura Biel (Anna-Maria Sielucka), with plans to hold her hostage for one year until she falls in love with him. Critically maligned, 365 Days is hardly one of the best erotic thrillers, but the 365 Days trilogy is certainly notable for its steamy scenes and questionable premise.

Part one of a trilogy, 365 Days has seen plenty of controversy, and for good reason. Frankly, I don’t personally take issue with the movie’s graphic sexual content, but with the problematic premise. The film is rife with sexual abuse, toxic masculinity, and misogyny, all while romanticizing the abusive relationship between the male lead and his female captive. One scene in particular had me nearly turning off my screen — the internet-famous boat scene, where the two leads have sex for the first time.

The 365 Days Boat Scene Romanticizes Abuse & Misogyny

The Scene Has Laura Apologizing For Fighting Back Against Massimo's Abuse

The scene begins withMassimo and Laura arguing on his yacht about an incident the night before, in which she flirted with one of his rivals from another crime family. When the man tried to sexually assault Laura, Massimo shot his hands and incited a war between the two mafia factions. In a truly despicable move, Massimo blames Laura for what happened. And it only gets worse from there.

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During their fight, Massimo grabs Laura and starts to get rough with her. When she fights back, she falls off the yacht into the water.Massimo dives in to rescue her and brings her back to the boat. Laura falls unconscious, then wakes up in a bed to hear Massimo say, “I’m so grateful that you’re alive. But at the same time, I wanna kill you.” He then has the gall to ask her, “Why are you so disobedient?” After apologizing for her behavior, Laura initiates sex with Massimo, seemingly rewarding his terrible behavior.

While many viewers on social media poked fun at the scene, not everyone was amused. There has been plenty of outrage over the movie’s misogynistic themes. In one Reddit thread discussing the movie, user Thatoneasian9000 said,“The fact that this movie is making abuse, asssult [sic], and Stockholm Syndrome look hot is f***ing disgusting." Another comment from reddit user GetFreeCash reads:

“I actually found most of the passionate scenes extremely offputting given the film's propensity to frame the male and female lead as sexy bantering rivals rather than, you know, a kidnapper and his f***ing kidnapping victim.”

The Sex Scenes Throughout 365 Days Are Also Controversial

People Thought That The Sex On Screen Was Really Happening

Anna-Maria Sieklucka lying in bed in 365 Days

The yacht scene in 365 Days isn’t the only controversial aspect of the film. There are several sex scenes throughout the movie that are extremely graphic, which had some people wondering if the sex scenes were unsimulated. However, the cast and creators of 365 Days insisted that there was no actual sex happening on screen.

In an interview with Varietyin 2020, cinematographer Bartek Cierlica explained how the intimate scenes between Michele Morrone and Anna-Maria Sielucka were shot:

“We wanted this sex to be pretty authentic. We wanted the viewer to hear their whispers, heavy breaths and we wanted to show the sweat, passion. Be natural, authentic, but not to cross the border of pornography.”

Another scene that happens early in the film shows a flight attendant performing oral sex on Massimo on a plane. Though the scene looked very realistic, it, too, was all simulated. Morrone even described the prosthetic he used during filming, and how the awkwardness of the moment had him and members of the crew laughing from nervousness (via Plotek).

The Future Of The 365 Days Franchise, Explained

Michele Morrone sitting at a fancy dinner in 365 Days

Following the high viewership ratings of 365 Days,Netflix released the sequel, 365 Days: This Day, in 2022. Having recently been married, Laura starts to feel neglected when Massimo is gone most of the time for work. She finds herself growing attracted to the gardener, Nacho (Simone Sussina), who is later revealed to be the son of Massimo’s mafia rival. The ending of 365 Days: This Day also features lots of twists and turns that viewers did not see coming.

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The third film in the trilogy, The Next 365 Days, was released just months after the second. Interestingly, 365 Days 3 retconned the second film's twist ending when Laura seemingly died at the end, only to reappear alive and well at the beginning of the next movie without much explanation. Though she tries hard to resist, Laura finally gives in to her feelings for Nacho. Massimo finds out about the affair, forcing Laura to choose between the two men. The movie ends on a cliffhanger, with Laura unable to make a decision.

Considering that the author hasn’t written a fourth book, nor is there news of another one on the way, the chance of a new 365 Days movie happening anytime soon is pretty slim.

While the ending of The Next 365 Days leaves things open for a sequel, there is currently no confirmation of a fourth installment. Considering that the author hasn’t written a fourth book, nor is there news of another one on the way, the chance of a new 365 Daysmovie happening anytime soon is pretty slim. Of course, it’s possible that a new movie might be in development. Maybe the creators are working directly with the author to write a new story, or Lipińska may be working on a new book that could eventually be adapted for the screen.