Basic Instinct
1992
Stars: Sharon Stone, Michael Douglas, Jeanne Triplehorn, George Dzundza, Denis Arndt, Leilani Sarelle.
Director: Paul Verhoeven.
Plot: In this very hot and sexy thriller, Michael Douglas stars as Detective Nick Curran who's trying to find out who killed the rocker Johnny Boz. The police's key witnessed is mystery Catherine Tramell(Sharon Stone) who was going out with Johnny right before his death. Also, coincidently, the murder was executed the exact same way how a murder occurred in one of Catherine's books. Of course, they think of her as a witnessed because the death was a copy of how it happened in the book and since she had written, she'd know it by heart. At first, Nick is in contact with her strictly to find out about the murder and Johnny, but he later on forms a relationship with her which everyone warns him is very dangerous. His one and only real friend is Gus(George Dzundza) who also warns him that she's dangerous and very sneaky. Nick had just broken off a relationship with Doctor Beth Garner(Jeanne Tripplehorn), who works with him to solve the murder case. Nick becomes very dependent on Catherine even though he knows that she's a murder suspect. During this whole time, Nick's boss Lieutenant Walker(Denis Arndt) is telling him to work on the case and stay away from Catherine. Nick ignores them and continues to visit Catherine to have sex. Catherine also lives with a female lover Roxy(Leilani Sarelle), who enjoys watching the two have sex. As Nick gets deeper in love with Catherine, more people around him start to die. He has to find the killer or else he might be the next victim.
My Thoughts: Before seeing this, I had read a lot about it. I had read about the explicit sex scenes and when I saw it, it lived up to its reputation. There are numerous sex scenes that are very graphic including a lot of nudity and it looks very real. Probably one of the most controversial scenes in cinema in the 90's is the infamous interrogation where Sharon Stone flirts with the police and eventually opens her legs revealing to the audience and the policemen that she's not wearing any panties. I think the director strive to make this as trashy as possible and keeping it at a R rating. I think he succeeded which means that many will be offended by the graphic sex and violence while others will probably enjoy it. I, being a male, liked it but I didn't think that director Verhoeven had to be so graphic if he was just trying to get a point across. But I think he was aiming more for shock and controvery, and he did a good job in that area. There are many twists in the movie, so many that the audience has to wait until the very last shot until we know who the killer is. I'm not going to reveal it because that wouldn't be fair to the people who haven't seen this. I think after a major star gets naked in front of the camera for numerous scenes, that it damages their appearance and we know that most of Stone's films after this haven't been really great flicks. Overall, I thought this was a pretty good mystery movie that kept me guessing to the end, but I know that many will be offended, mostly women. I know many people saw this just to see Sharon Stone naked, which is another reason, but it's more than just soft-core porn.
Rating:
