9 Songs Review
By Chris Dobens
Sex, Drugs, & Rock n Roll
I wasn't sure what to expect from
9 Songs. I had read that it was the story of a scientist in Antarctica who reminisces about a former lover and the concerts they attended together. Sounds like a perfectly plausible plot, doesn't it? I can honestly say that when I'm schlepping across frozen tundra - or enduring any kind of discomfort, for that matter - I often think back to the carnal delights I've savored over the years. Not so much the rock shows, though.
But 9 Songs isn't quite that. We don't see much of Antarctica, or even learn what circumstances brought our narrator there. In fact, we don't even learn our narrator's name unless you look at the credits, and I'm not sure it was even listed there.
What we do learn is that sex is good. I know, one would think that such a lesson would be unnecessary, despite the neo-puritan times we live in. Nevertheless, the film seems dedicated to this point. And we also learn the difference between love and lust, between a relationship and a fling, though it seems that this lesson may have been lost on our narrator.
If nothing else, 9 Songs is explicit. Just when you think the camera will pan away, it doesn't. They go there. And I must say that it is refreshing to see a sex scene that is truly realistic, not to mention between two people who have realistic bodies. There's none of this slow romance followed by the well-rehearsed kissing, and then the obligatory grasp and release of the sheets. No, this is spontaneous, lust-crazed sex between two people who probably look a lot more like you and I than any Hollywood celebrity. And I must also applaud the focus given to cunnilingus in this film. Rarely does Hollywood even hint at such acts, let alone show them…repeatedly…in graphic detail.
OK, so I seem to be talking a lot about sex here. But after seeing 9 Songs, what else is there? Plot? Character development? No, I think not. In fact, there is so little besides sex in this movie that one might argue that it's the "p" word - pornography. Truth be told, I've seen hardcore porn with less sex and more dialog than this film.
There is also the music, however. The couple in question met at a rock show. That much we do know. And, to give you a little flavor of the film, the only other people with dialog in this film are the vocalists we occasionally see on stage.
Now I didn't exactly count how many songs there were. I think more than nine, but one cannot be sure after one's mind has been polluted with all that fine sex. The acts - musical, that is - range from young rockers with bad hairstyles to smarmy euro-whiners with bad hairstyles. My favorite had to be Primal Scream, which is quite possibly the most underrated band of our time.
The concerts, like the sex, are shot in a gritty sort of student documentary style. The camera moves around like the eye, and doesn't always worry about things like lighting and focus. But the effect gives you a sense of being there.
I'm not sure why Michael Winterbottom - best known for directing Welcome to Sarajevo - made this film, which he not only directed but also wrote. I have no idea what grand message, if any, he was trying to convey through it. That people are like ice fields? That you shouldn't get serious with a chick you pick up at a rock show? Who knows.
But I do have to give buckets of credit to the cast - both of them. Kieran O'Brien plays the guy, Matt, and Margot Stilley the girl, Lisa. This appears to be her first major production, while he has appeared in two films I had never heard of. Clearly neither of them are shy. And I honestly couldn't tell if they were acting or actually engaging in the sexual acts depicted in the film. I don't know if they give awards for that sort of thing, but they should.
In the end, I guess the best insight I can offer is that 9 Songs is a movie about a guy who confuses love for lust. Lisa is one of those young girls who want to experience it all, yet she has built up enough walls around her so that she doesn't have to worry about becoming too attached, too vulnerable, or too hurt. Which, sadly, means that she never really experiences anything beyond the physical, and there is surely so much more to life than the physical.
Matt, who acts slightly older, seems to be looking beyond the physical. True, he enjoys himself - or, to be more accurate, he enjoys her. But he clearly has fallen for Lisa, even though she doesn't exactly return that level of emotion. In his heart he may know that she's just a flash in the pan, but he can't help thinking that it's somehow more. And that's typical of the male species, as we often mistake lust for love.
Which is why, ultimately, I think everyone should see this film. It functions as a good guide to what sex can and should be like between two consenting adults. It might erase some of the nonsense that has plagued our society with false pretenses of what sex should be like. And, if nothing else, it will do what Secretary failed to achieve, and that is redefine the possibilities of sex for those stuck in the banality of 9.5 Weeks.
If you want to see something other than the basic Hollywood fare, or you just want to see another couple engaging in genuine sex but don't want to risk running into someone you know at Le Trapeze, then go see 9 Songs. But if you are looking for a meaningful, life-changing encounter with the cinematic arts, you might feel a little empty afterwards.
