Watching 9 Songs, Michael Winterbottom's art-house romance, is an uncomfortable experience.
For those of you unfamiliar with the premise, 9 Songs charts a short lived relationship between Matt, a British glaciologist, and Lisa, an American visitor to London who will eventually leave him to return home. Retrospectively narrated from his tent pitched on the Antarctic ice shelf, Matt juxtaposes the loneliness of his current environment with the intimacies of the previous winter.
Its a solid concept; one could fully imagine oneself forensically examining failed relationships when surrounded by such desolation. But rather than explore the emotional connection between the lovers, Winterbottom chose to represent their intimacy almost exclusively in, well, the most intimate way possible. Consequently we, the audience, are treated to around 30 minutes of two young actors engaging in extremely graphic, unsimulated sex with someone they have no personal relationship with.
In interviews both actors have stressed that they did not make the film for money or exposure, and given their hostile reaction to the inevitable media furore I have no reason to doubt them, but what does motivate a real (as opposed to pornographic) actor to accept such a role? Usually, we are told, such films are made in the pursuit of artistic expression and/or a noble attempt to represent reality. Margo Stilley, the actress who plays Lisa, concurs:
For Stilley in particular, aged just twenty one and on her first professional acting gig, one can't help but feel uncomfortable in the role of voyeur. In interviews she remains bullish about her decision to accept the role, but her request to have her real name removed from publicity materials perhaps tells a different story. Moreover, I can't help feeling that Winterbottom's claim that he planned to cast her again in his next film project - something that does not appear to have materialized - betrays a guilty conscience. I wonder whether Stilley would have accepted the role had she consulted with Maria Schneider beforehand?
Incidentally, the nine songs of the title frame the sexual exploits of the couple, as they venture out of the bedroom to see live bands play. Its an odd conceit, and one that was developed during filming rather than a pre-scripted plot element. The bands are great, especially Michael Nyman.
If nothing else, 9 Songs could be considered a bad porn movie with a great soundtrack. Not exactly a strong selling point, I admit.
For those of you unfamiliar with the premise, 9 Songs charts a short lived relationship between Matt, a British glaciologist, and Lisa, an American visitor to London who will eventually leave him to return home. Retrospectively narrated from his tent pitched on the Antarctic ice shelf, Matt juxtaposes the loneliness of his current environment with the intimacies of the previous winter.
Its a solid concept; one could fully imagine oneself forensically examining failed relationships when surrounded by such desolation. But rather than explore the emotional connection between the lovers, Winterbottom chose to represent their intimacy almost exclusively in, well, the most intimate way possible. Consequently we, the audience, are treated to around 30 minutes of two young actors engaging in extremely graphic, unsimulated sex with someone they have no personal relationship with.
In interviews both actors have stressed that they did not make the film for money or exposure, and given their hostile reaction to the inevitable media furore I have no reason to doubt them, but what does motivate a real (as opposed to pornographic) actor to accept such a role? Usually, we are told, such films are made in the pursuit of artistic expression and/or a noble attempt to represent reality. Margo Stilley, the actress who plays Lisa, concurs:
But the artist here is clearly Winterbottom, yet it isn't him having sexual intercourse captured on film stock for eternity. Stilley again:
I wanted to make a film about something I really believe in, which is to show sex in a very positive light, as a very important piece of everyday life and a very important piece of a relationship, whether it's successful or unsuccessful.
Michael had this way of puppeteering us around, [he] did convey a lot. He was specific.
For Stilley in particular, aged just twenty one and on her first professional acting gig, one can't help but feel uncomfortable in the role of voyeur. In interviews she remains bullish about her decision to accept the role, but her request to have her real name removed from publicity materials perhaps tells a different story. Moreover, I can't help feeling that Winterbottom's claim that he planned to cast her again in his next film project - something that does not appear to have materialized - betrays a guilty conscience. I wonder whether Stilley would have accepted the role had she consulted with Maria Schneider beforehand?
Incidentally, the nine songs of the title frame the sexual exploits of the couple, as they venture out of the bedroom to see live bands play. Its an odd conceit, and one that was developed during filming rather than a pre-scripted plot element. The bands are great, especially Michael Nyman.
If nothing else, 9 Songs could be considered a bad porn movie with a great soundtrack. Not exactly a strong selling point, I admit.
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