Warning: Potential Spoilers Ahead.
A movie with stars, sex and violence, Basic Instinct seems like the perfect recipe to a fantastic film, however this movie is only able to underwhelm.
This 1992 thriller is directed by Paul Verhoeven and stars Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone. The movie involves Douglas’ character detective Nick Curran investigating the murder of a Rockstar who was murdered during sex. When going to visit the Rockstar’s (thought to be) girlfriend Catherine Tramell (played by Sharon Stone), things seem rather odd about her and Curran becomes extremely suspicious about her involvement. However, with no evidence, Curran takes matters into his own hands, only to be seduced by Catherine and grow ever more confused about who he believes has committed the crime.
This erotic mystery thriller spares nobody’s innocence from the starting blocks, with a steamy sex scene blended together with an extremely graphic murder. Immediately, director Verhoeven makes it clear to us as the audience that this film does not intend to censor itself. Not only does the first scene set up the plot of the movie, but also the tone of it as it progresses onwards, with countless similarly repeated scenes and cheap thrills to push it past the finish line.
The movie’s main message seems to implement the power that women have over men through sexual arousal and manipulation. A clear example is the interrogation scene – in which Sharon Stone’s character Catherine intentionally uncrosses her legs revealing herself in attempt to distract her interrogators and possibly to get off the hook. Although the sexual manipulation of women is a key theme of this film, I feel as if screenwriter Joe Eszterhas blurs the boundary of the several sex scenes from being essential to the plot to using and sexualising the female characters in the film for nothing but audience appeal. The movie also shows an erotic scene when Dr. Beth Garner (played by Jeanne Tripplehorn) however this was a blatant rape scene which completely disregards and contradicts the message of female empowerment discussed earlier. In the following scene when the pair meet again they carry on talking as usual, acting as if nothing even happened previously.
In terms of the performances, Sharon Stone stands out greatly in this film. Her character ‘Catherine’ is a well portrayed femmes fatale that is both seductive and manipulative not only to her co-stars but for the audience also. She screams danger for Detective Curran from the very beginning. Although the killer is all but confirmed to be Stone from the beginning, her character consistently charms her way around the viewer convicting her. This charm made her somewhat likeable. Similarly, Michael Douglas does well with his performance, however some poor editing through the inclusion of reaction shots and some long awkward spaces between lines make dialogue seem unnatural and really took me out of the film. This is especially apparent during the first act. His character’s (Nick’s) ‘conveniently’ timed relapse from smoking and alcoholism are strangely triggered by the odd interrogation of Catherine and it makes it feel like his addiction is simply shoehorned in to provide him with more character depth.
Although peppered with numerous sex scenes, Basic Instinct’s mystery was the major element that grasped my attention and held tight to it for the large majority of its two-hour run time. The movie was always able to intrigue me to solve the case with Michael Douglas’ character and as my intrigue began to thin out, a curveball was thrown to keep me focused and interested. For example, when Catherine’s deranged homosexual lover Roxy, who also become a suspect to the plot, grows jealous of Nick. This leads to an entertaining but tedious car chase which drags for a little too long. I feel as if the movie could have benefited greatly by being more driven by the mystery and limiting the erotic moments which played no real purpose to the plot. However, the most frustrating thing about this movie is the huge plot hole which could have avoided the events of this film taking place – The murderers DNA would have been all over the crime scene and the victim, yet nothing is done or said about it. The idiocy of these detective seems to continue further.
Jerry Goldsmith once again shows why he is one of the greatest film composers to have lived. The music of Basic Instinct adds to the tone and atmosphere of the movie perfectly with a blend of both intensity and calm that enhances the experience for the viewer. For example, the smooth wind instruments that elevate the seduction of sex scene which are followed by the intensity of string instruments like violns when the murder weapon is revealed and the murderer’s intent is highlighted.
Basic Instinct was a rollercoaster of opinions. While the classic ‘whodunit’ mystery remained interesting, despite some amateur detective work, the writing and direction did not capitalise on this most important element and instead gravitated towards sexualising women with unnecessary and overused softcore sequences which could have been used more sparingly. Canyon sized plot holes destroy the basic logic of the movie and yet it is saved by the performances of Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone in particular. Verhoeven should thank these two individuals for reeling in audiences even though the film itself is nothing greater than mediocre.
Max Sunnar 