9½ Weeks

The DVD cover of 9½ Weeks

9½ Weeks is a 1986 erotic drama cult film starring Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger.

9½ Weeks was directed by Adrian Lyne and based on the novella of the same title by Elizabeth McNeill (pseudonym). Though the film was considered a bomb at the domestic box office, video sales and rentals as well as international viewings were extremely strong. 9 1/2 Weeks is notable for its erotic sadomasochistic content (for example, Basinger's artisan striptease to Joe Cocker's "You Can Leave Your Hat On", a scene in which Rourke handfeeds a blindfolded Basinger multiple kinds of food, and a scene in which the couple has sex in a rainy brick alley stairway), kicking off a strong industry in "couples" soft-core pornography. The film also acted as a starting point for the minimalist Asian inspired fashions that begin in the mid-1980s and remain popular. For example, Mickey Rourke's character opens a closet that contains a series of identical shirts and suits from the designer house Comme des Garçons.

This film was Kim Basinger's first starring role in a major motion picture, though she had some prior acting experience. Director Adrian Lyne is notorious for using emotionally manipulative tactics on Basinger during the shooting in order to elicit the performance he wanted from the somewhat green actress, which Basinger later criticized harshly. For example, Lyne did not allow Rourke and Basinger to talk to each other off-set. The two were kept isolated from each other and Lyne would tell Basinger rumors about Rourke intended to make her like or dislike him so that she would carry that attitude into the scene. Lyne would also offer Rourke performance notes, but Basinger none, in order to unnerve her. In a very unusual (and expensive) move along these lines, Lyne chose to shoot the film sequentially, so that Basinger's actual emotional breakdown over time would be effectively translated to the screen.

Contents

1 Plot
2 Controversy
3 Awards
4 Sequels
5 External links
6 References

Plot

The title of the film refers to the duration of a tumultuous sadomasochistic relationship between Wall Street investor John Grey (played by Mickey Rourke) and divorced art gallery owner Elizabeth McGraw (Kim Basinger). The film details a gradual sexual downward spiral as John pushes Elizabeth's boundaries towards her eventual emotional breakdown. Disjointed symbolism runs through the movie, perhaps in part due to the significant editing of the theatrical release (see below). For example, a fish that is caught, killed and eaten is used throughout the film as a symbol of Elizabeth's emotional state. Another enigmatic example is in the character of the elderly artist Farnsworth who Elizabeth represents at her art gallery. He lives his life simply which is directly opposite of the chaos Elizabeth is experiencing. When Farnsworth becomes flustered at his art showing in Elizabeth's gallery, he may become more parallel to her symbollically.

Controversy

Many scenes were cut before the movie's release because they were deemed "psychologically damaging" by the studio. Whether this was true or hype is unknown. The most famous scene cut allegedly involved John and Elizabeth in a pact to overdose on sleeping pills together, only to find out that John had replaced the pills with placebos at the end of the scene. This scene is not reflected in the novella. Adrian Lyne has promised repeatedly to release a director's version of the movie, which would include many of the cut scenes, but so far that project has not surfaced.

Awards

The movie was nominated for three categories in the 1986 Golden Raspberry Awards.

Sequels

A tentative sequel was written called Four Days in February by Zalman King, and Mickey Rourke was said to have agreed to the project, however Kim Basinger declined and the sequel was abandoned. In 1997, the actual sequel appeared direct to video called Another 9½ Weeks, starring Mickey Rourke and Angie Everhart and directed by Anne Goursaud. In 1998 a straight to video prequel was made called The First 9½ Weeks but it did not contain any of the original actors.

External links

[Book Link on amazon.com]

References

Briggs, Joe Bob, Profoundly Erotic: Sexy Movies that Changed History. New York: Rizzoli (2005).

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