Kate Winslet was so impressed by In the Bedroom (2001) that she was determined to work with Todd Field. She said the movie made her feel very uneasy, and was intrigued by the director responsible for that.
Kate Winslet was left with a bruised bottom after filming her sex scene in a sink. The scene took place in a laundry room and was far from sexy. The actress reveals, "We both had little coverings on the pieces that we didn't want people to see. We spent the most time saying to each other, 'You know, I think your little plastic covering may be coming off a little. Let's get them to put some glue on there.' "We rehearsed the scene fully clothed, without anyone in the room; just us and (director) Todd (Field), and we just got a general shape of the scene so we knew what to expect. "We did look out for each other and we laughed a hell of a lot. It sounds ridiculous but at a certain point you forget that you're naked with a relative stranger. It's really weird. "My hips and backside really hurt the next day. They put some pad across the front of the seat and I was sitting on something slightly cushioned. It's all so ridiculous this crazy job we do for a living".
A sequence where Brad mentally compares Sarah to Kathy he describes Kathy as tall and Sarah as short. In reality Jennifer Connelly is only half an inch taller than Kate Winslet.
When the shot pans over Sarah's books, they include John Updike's "Couples," also about married couples in adulterous affairs in the suburbs.