9 1/2 Weeks is a movie that tells the story of a very attractive “Power couple” in Upper Manhattan. Directed and Produced by Adrian Lyne (Flashdance, Unfaithful), it’s a perfect depiction of life in the mid eighties. Its very stylish, slow moving, but somewhat shallow. The Premise of the movie, is the length of an affair between two ordinary people that cross the boundries and push the limits of sexual deviance.

Elizabeth (Kim Basinger), is a gorgeous, statuesque blond whose occupation is an art dealer. Elizabeth is independent, lives w/ her roommate Molly (Margaret Whitton), and has a very active social life. Elizabeth is not one to delve into “kink,” which she makes very clear during girl talk with Molly, she jokes about it, whole heartedly, but you can tell that she is to Normal to go that route.

It all started with eye contact. While at a butcher shop, she notices him standing in front of her, not saying a word. Before she can fully acknowledge his presence, he had already disappeared. John (Mickey Rourke) a mysterious Stock Broker casually charms his way into Elizabeth’s life. From the moment he bought her the scarf from the street fair that she could not afford, the tumulus affair began. On day one of the affair he offers to blindfold her, and she reluctantly agrees. Although she is frightened, it excites her. He then begins to titillate her with ice cubes. It’s an intense moment which Kim carries off very well. To soften the night before, he sends red roses to her work.

Soon after Elizabeth and John are playing games, making love in unconventional places, and running through the New York City streets like teenagers. The affair at first seems harmless, and it’s fun to watch them, although it’s very easy to miss the subtle clues of Johns sadistic nature. A good example is when they’re at Coney Island. He makes her get on the Ferris Wheel. She begs him to come with her, but of course he set her up. He tells the ride operator to move the ride so she is all the way at the top. While she is screaming, John and the ride operator leave her there and go for a walk. What’s funny about this moment is that it summarizes the movie: they are both two consenting adults doing childish yet dangerous things and John has taken Elizabeth to new heights.

At first it’s all mildly erotic, but John starts to continuously push Elizabeth. The games get darker and his needs get more demanding as they try to keep the relationship sexually exciting. John gives her a watch, and tells her to “think” about him everyday at a certain time. This leads to a scene stealing moment for Kim, as she pleasures herself while looking at slides. John starts to get aggressive, and although Elizabeth does not like the games, she is addicted. John makes it clear that he doesn’t want to be involved in her “normal” life, causing Elizabeth to loose track of her world outside of the one with Johns. While she longs to know more about John, she cant help but be drawn to his elusiveness. He is gentleman enough to keep her from questioning, but is still very dominating. John does not want to stop, and Elizabeth can’t stop. When you get to the point of being out of control, how much further will you go to maintain the same level of excitement?

Mickey Rourke does a good job playing the mysterious hunk with the trench coat although he does not have much dialogue. Unfortunately afterward there were a lot of bad decisions script wise, along with wife beating, and boxing rings making it hard to get his career to that level again. Kim who had much success after the film, may come off as somewhat annoying, but when it comes to projecting the emotions, she does an exceptional job. Although the movie tanked in US upon release, it went on to gain huge success in Europe and was the first mainstream film to portray erotica to that level since “Last Tango In Paris.” The main flaw that I found with the movie was that she characters lack depth, Elizabeth of course has some depth to her, cause one of the main points of the movie was to see her spiral into a world not her own. John on the other hand is completely shallow. the audience is just as lost as Elizabeth up until a scene towards the end which he tries to open up about his life. By this time, its too late, and it makes no point for Elizabeth or the audience to care. The film is beautifully shot, the scenes are timeless and decadent. Its slow most times, but never boring, and what’s most alluring is the style. From the wardrobe to the scenes, its very modern and although the film is grainy when watching it on television, its still very classy and tasteful.

It may be not have the same shock value that it did when it first came out, but it’s a classic film. Especially if you want to go back to those erotic nights of blindfold, fruits and lots of honey.....

This review is a write off for pearannoyeds write off, I also did a review for the book of the same title….




Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age