Seberg | 2019 | R | – 6.4.6

Why is “Seberg” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “language, sexual content/nudity and some drug use.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a couple of sex scenes and implied sex scenes, several scenes of partial nudity, several kissing scenes, and discussions of infidelity; a fight scene that ends without injuries, several arguments, a gunshot in the air, an attempted suicide, the death of a newborn child, many scenes of yelling, and illegal surveillance of a woman; and at least 15 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

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Inspired by the biography of actress Jean Seberg (Kristen Stewart) and her relationship with a civil rights activist that initiated a relentless assault on her private life by the FBI in the late 1960s. Also with Yvan Attal, Anthony Mackie, Zazie Beetz, Gabriel Sky, Jack O’Connell, Margaret Qualley, Colm Meaney, Vince Vaughn and Stephen Root. Directed by Benedict Andrews. A few lines of dialogue are spoken in French with English subtitles and others are spoken without translation. [Running Time: 1:42]

Seberg SEX/NUDITY 6

 – A man and a woman (each married to other people) lie on a bed and kiss, the woman unbuttons her dress (we see bare breasts and abdomen) and the man is shown wearing a tank T-shirt as he thrusts on top of the woman and we hear them moaning; we hear the same moaning on a recording a few times. A husband and his wife kiss passionately, he presses her against a kitchen counter and she raises her skirt (we see a partial bare thigh) as the scene ends (sex is implied). A man pulls a woman onto a bed where they kiss (we see her bare breast) and she rolls over and leaves.
► A man and woman kiss while in a swimming pool. A husband and his wife kiss in a few scenes. A wife kisses her husband on the cheek. A husband kisses his wife on the cheek and hugs her around the shoulders while standing behind her. A husband kisses his wife on the forehead. A woman hears a man and a woman having sex on a recording over the phone and she realizes the man is her husband. A woman kisses a man’s hand.
► We see a crude, cartoonish drawing of a man and a woman having sex (the woman is nude with bare breasts evident and the man is nude with his bare chest and partial buttocks drawn); we also see numerous copies of the drawing posted on a fence and strewn in a playground where children are playing and laughing about the drawing. Two women use van windows to apply lipstick and touch up their hair as a man inside the van watches them.
► A man is reported to be a pornographer. A woman tells a man that she is pregnant by another man.
► A woman wears a sheer nightgown that reveals breasts and nipples, abdomen and underwear through the fabric. A woman wears a robe that reveals cleavage, partial bare abdomen and bare legs to the upper thighs. Women wear miniskirts that reveal bare legs to the upper thighs in several scenes throughout the movie. A woman wears a bikini while swimming and a man wears trunks (cleavage, bare abdomen and legs to the hips are seen, as well as the man’s bare chest and abdomen). A woman undresses in front of a man (he’s her manager) and we see her bare back. A woman wears a dress that reveals cleavage and bare back. A woman’s dress reveals her bare back to the waist. A man is shown in a shower and we see his bare shoulders and partial chest. A woman wears a bra and half-slip while talking to her husband (cleavage and bare abdomen are seen).

Seberg VIOLENCE/GORE 4

 – A woman breaks a plate-glass window in another woman’s home and shoots a handgun in the air while yelling at her (no injuries are shown). Two men argue and one man shoves the other to the floor and holds him by the throat. A woman takes many prescription pills from a vial and leans on a sink breathing deeply (we hear later that she survived but the child she was carrying died). A woman takes a prescription pill with a glass of whiskey and she leans out a window high above a street; she goes back inside when she sees a man watching her.
► A dog barks at a man when he enters a house and the man pushes the dog with his knee, he kicks the dog and we hear a whimper, and we later see the dog lying motionless on the floor (we understand that the dog is dead).
► Men plant listening devices in a woman’s home in a few scenes. Men are shown in a van surveilling a woman for an extended period. We see newsreel footage of protests and police violence toward protestors. A woman takes a handgun out of a bedside table and places it on a table when she auditions for a part (there are several other people seated at the table). A woman frantically searches her home for evidence of surveillance and we see objects shattered on the floor. A woman is hounded by press and photographers in several scenes.
► We hear nervous breathing as the opening credits play and we then see a woman chained to a pole as flames surround her during the filming of a movie scene and we hear her scream; we later hear that the woman was actually burned by the flames and we see a scar on her abdomen. While filming a scene for a movie, a man and a woman wrestle on the ground and we see her with stage blood on her face.
► A woman reads a statement to the press about her newborn child dying after two days. We hear news reports of students protesting at the Sorbonne in France. A woman stands with members of the Black Panthers at an airport as press members ask questions and take photos of them; a man later tells her that her stunt was “dumb.” A husband and his wife argue about photographs of a woman, and the wife fears that the husband is having an affair; the man slams a chair onto the floor and yells. A man yells at his teenage daughter in front of company and slams a glass and flatware off a dining table while ordering her to sit down; the man yells at his wife and talks about his son having moved out. A man yells at a flight attendant while in flight and demands a seat in first class, accusing the attendant of being racist until a woman offers her seat to the man. A husband and his wife argue and he refers to her having ended two marriages. A man talks about hate and that white America hates black America. Men argue about grilling techniques at a cookout. Two women argue about one of them having an affair with the other woman’s husband. We hear recordings of a man praying. A woman arrives at a man’s house and interrupts several men praying; the men then leave. A woman’s phone rings incessantly and there is no one on the other end of the line; she slams the receiver down a couple of times. A woman practices her lines for a performance and holds her hand in the shape of a pistol toward a man reading another character’s lines. A man warns a woman that she could be in danger. A man tells a woman over the phone that, “They will destroy you.” We hear that two children were shot. A headline reads that a woman attempted suicide. We read that a woman died at the age of 40 and was found in her car after missing for 10 days and that her death seemed suspicious but presumed a suicide.

Seberg LANGUAGE 6

 – About 15 F-words and its derivatives, 3 sexual references, 4 scatological terms, 2 anatomical terms, 4 mild obscenities, 5 derogatory term for African-Americans, 1 derogatory reference to a person of color, name-calling (bastards, Nazis, dumb, crazy, disgusting racism, sympathizer, big mouth, out of line, malicious, awful), exclamations (are you kidding me, oh my gosh), 1 religious profanity (GD), 6 religious exclamations (e.g. Jesus, Jesus Christ, Oh My God, Oh God, Thank God, For God’s Sake). | profanity glossary |

Seberg SUBSTANCE USE

 – A woman smokes a marijuana cigarette and shares it with a man, a woman takes several prescription pills (in a suicide attempt), and there is a discussion of heroin addiction. A woman drinks what could be whiskey on a plane, a woman drinks glasses of whiskey in several scenes throughout the movie, men drink beers at a cookout, a man asks a woman if she wants a beer, a man smokes and drinks on his patio, and people drink and smoke at a couple of house parties and in bar and restaurant scenes. A woman smokes a cigarette in a man’s house, a man smokes in an office, a man smokes a cigarette while leaning out a hotel window, a woman smokes at a cookout, and a man smokes in a restaurant.

Seberg DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – FBI, the Civil Rights Movement, Malcolm X, The Black Panthers, NAACP, racism, Nazis, Otto Preminger, illegal surveillance, education, patience, non-violent protest, misinformation, betrayal, suicide, cooperation, self-worth, making a difference, responsibility, infidelity, libel, defamation, persecution, interracial romance, gender roles.

Seberg MESSAGE

 – Sometimes trying to make a difference can lead to life-changing complications.