Popularity of a film often has little to do with its objective quality. Consequently, many great hits were later becoming source of embarrassment for those who had liked them. It could be argued that the same fate happened to 9 ½ Weeks, erotic drama directed by Adrian Lyne, known as one of the most talked about films of 1980s.
The film is based on the 1978 eponymous book of memoirs by Ingeborg Day, published under pen name “Elizabeth McNeill”. Her fictional alter ego, played by Kim Basinger, is Elizabeth McGraw, divorced art gallery assistant in New York district of SoHo. One day in Chinese grocery store she meets an attractive and mysterious man and, after another meeting, she learns that his name is John Gray (played by Mickey Rourke), and that he earns his living as successful Wall Street broker. Two of them are attracted to each other and begin very passionate love affair. John apparently likes to play games and that allows Elizabeth to begin exploring some hidden aspects of her own sexuality. But, as time goes by, it turns out that John is being increasingly aroused by sadomasochism and Elizabeth begins to like those games less and less. When those games begin to involve third person, Elizabeth starts questioning whether the increasingly demanding romance has any future.
This film was apparently designed as an attempt to push the envelope and broaden the limits of sexually explicit content in 1980s mainstream Hollywood, in a same manner Last Tango in Paris did it for world cinema in early 1970s. If Ingeborg Day’s book have been adapted to screen in 1970s, during the more permissive age of New Hollywood, this might have worked. Few years later the climate has completely changed with the arrival of Reagan, AIDS and more conservative social mores. 9 ½ Weeks actually had very difficult path to production and later had to wait for some time before being released, butchered by censors in US version and flopping at domestic market. The international audience, on the other hand, was able to see film in its integral version and it proved to be quite a hit, although it had more to do with clever marketing campaign based on “cool” soundtrack and MTV videos than with the actual quality of the film.
The biggest problem for 9 ½ Weeks is its director Adrian Lyne. British film maker who, like many of his generation, had begun career making television commercials, made this film in typically 1980s style using quick cuts, montages accompanied by pop songs and mostly dark cinematography by Pete Bizou. The result is a film that relishes in its style but almost completely ignores its substance. Where Lyne appears to care about the actual content, it becomes obvious that his own conservative views are at odds with the more libertine script by Sarah Kernochan, Zalman King and Patricia Louisiana Kopp. Lyne doesn’t seem to like the strange relationship between two protagonists and, consciously or unconsciously, tries to make it look as unattractive as possible. This reflects not only in plenty of literal darkness, but many supposedly “erotic” scenes being anything but. Many of scenes which were supposed to be titillating (like the one in which Elizabeth pleasures herself, often referenced as first scene of female masturbation in mainstream Hollywood) end up overlong and drowned by combination of poor editing and often annoying music.
Kim Basinger became major star thanks to this film, but her performance is quite unsatisfactory, mostly due to poorly written character. Basinger tries to put her obvious sex appeal to good use, but, apart from one brief scene where she actually appears naked, most of the work is done by small army of body doubles. Her chemistry with Mickey Rourke (here in his prime, because his looks was destroyed by questionable life choices) is almost non-existent. Things are even more disappointing with the rest of the cast, wasted in poorly written or underused roles - like Margaret Whitton in the role of Elizabeth’s best friend or veteran Dweight Weist in the role of reclusive artist. 9 ½ Weeks, seen from today’s perspective, when the audience has more quality erotica at its disposal, is an incredibly disappointing film that would make viewing experience look much longer than its title.
RATING: 2/10 (-)
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