I strongly disagree with "9 Songs" and films like it. This is not because I'm a prude who can't handle the prospect of viewing frank depictions of sexuality. I didn't have to endure a strict religious upbringing anymore than I hold conservative political views. But, before I get to why this production doesn't sit well with me, I should probably cover this inordinately sparse effort, by Michael Winterbottom, to at least some extent.
I get what high art films are striving for. They want to capture every nuance of a character, from the seriocomic aspects, to the overly dramatic beats and down to the base carnality that holds space in most of our lives. In all honesty, the only difference between a mainstream film and an art house production is that art films seem to strive far closer to 100% authenticity with their portrayals of sexuality and physical intimacy. This being said, "9 Songs" is not art. It's porn. Allow me to explain.
"Ken Park", Irreversible" and "The Brown Bunny" are more focused on scenes devoted to character development that, on occasion, are crowned by instances of graphic (mostly simulated, but occasionally explicit) sexuality. "9 Songs" goes the other route and features explicit content that, on occasion, is crowned by a threadbare plot. Over a 71 minute running time, Matt (Kieran O'Brien) and Lisa (Margo Stilley) have sex, indulge in a little recreational drug use, go to a concert and repeat. Some folks with a penchant for intellectually smug, masturbatory jargon, to explain away the bulge in their pants, may state otherwise. But, as someone who has sat through this film more than once, there really is nothing else to the proceedings.
Since this was dominated by sex, let's talk about it. Nothing was filmed well enough to be titillating or disturbing. It was just there and the two actors involved were, simply put, not cut out for it. This last bit pains me, because they put everything on the line for this production. But, despite the sacrifices they made, it still isn't any good. "9 Songs" spends far too little time on character development and too much in the bedroom. So, if you want to see an adult film with noble aspirations, this is it. But, then again, you could save yourself the effort and just surf the adult web. Hey, it's only two or three mouse clicks away from this review.
Now I'll get to why this movie disgusts me so. I imagine the two leads were told "9 Songs" was going to be a groundbreaking, genre redefining hit with the indie crowd that would open doors and launch their careers. Well, seven years later, that's yet to happen. Based off the info derived from IMDb, I'd say this flick only served to slam doors in their faces hard enough to knock them on their asses. And the phenomena isn't relegated to just this film.
The overwhelming majority of the cast of 2002's "Ken Park" was never seen on screen again. The leads in 2006's "Shortbus" largely disappeared and one nearly lost her day job. I think it's profoundly wrong to prey on the masses of struggling, hand to mouth actors to populate a film that will most likely hurt their acting prospects and shrink their non-showbiz opportunities as well.
Directors like Michael Winterbottom should stop kidding themselves and be honest about what they're doing when they set out to craft a film like this. They need to be especially honest about the damage it can wreak on their actors. Deep down they have to know this, since they will never try to snag A-list talent. This is why I say, for the next high art film, when the writer/director is looking to cast, he/she should seriously consider the adult film industry.
Adult film performers are comfortable in front of a camera and, with direction, can act well enough. "Baise Moi" serves as a prime example of how such a film can benefit from their participation. For a mainstream example, look at Sasha Grey in "Entourage". She's an adult film actress, and, while nowhere near being in the same league as an Oscar contender, the lady gets the job done.
What it all boils down to is the explicit sex, since this is going to be more powerful than any dialogue, comedic or action heavy scene could ever hope to be. Two struggling actors conned into having sex on screen are going to be horrendously (prom night level) awkward. Worst of all, depending on your gender, persuasion and taste, they may not be the kind of people you'd ever want to think about in a sexual context to begin with. But, with adult film actors, this wouldn't be a concern.
For one, they're usually models. Also, they're used to going to these private places, on camera, and have enough confidence with their bodies to lend these scenes the kind of charisma needed when filming explicit material. Best of all, it would do nothing to harm them in the long run. If anything, it would show them to be more versatile than just randomly lamenting to the tune of "oh yeah, oh yeah". It would be a win-win for all parties, right?
At the end of the day, I'm just a straight dude, living in the 21st century, who blogs on the net every so often. So, obviously, I'm not terribly opposed to viewing risqué, explicit or hardcore content. I just don't want to see anymore fledgling actors and actresses exploited to their detriment for films that, like "9 Songs", are nowhere near being worthy of their sacrifice. Because to use someone's dreams and aspirations to, ultimately, victimize them feels deeply wrong.
I get what high art films are striving for. They want to capture every nuance of a character, from the seriocomic aspects, to the overly dramatic beats and down to the base carnality that holds space in most of our lives. In all honesty, the only difference between a mainstream film and an art house production is that art films seem to strive far closer to 100% authenticity with their portrayals of sexuality and physical intimacy. This being said, "9 Songs" is not art. It's porn. Allow me to explain.
"Ken Park", Irreversible" and "The Brown Bunny" are more focused on scenes devoted to character development that, on occasion, are crowned by instances of graphic (mostly simulated, but occasionally explicit) sexuality. "9 Songs" goes the other route and features explicit content that, on occasion, is crowned by a threadbare plot. Over a 71 minute running time, Matt (Kieran O'Brien) and Lisa (Margo Stilley) have sex, indulge in a little recreational drug use, go to a concert and repeat. Some folks with a penchant for intellectually smug, masturbatory jargon, to explain away the bulge in their pants, may state otherwise. But, as someone who has sat through this film more than once, there really is nothing else to the proceedings.
Since this was dominated by sex, let's talk about it. Nothing was filmed well enough to be titillating or disturbing. It was just there and the two actors involved were, simply put, not cut out for it. This last bit pains me, because they put everything on the line for this production. But, despite the sacrifices they made, it still isn't any good. "9 Songs" spends far too little time on character development and too much in the bedroom. So, if you want to see an adult film with noble aspirations, this is it. But, then again, you could save yourself the effort and just surf the adult web. Hey, it's only two or three mouse clicks away from this review.
Now I'll get to why this movie disgusts me so. I imagine the two leads were told "9 Songs" was going to be a groundbreaking, genre redefining hit with the indie crowd that would open doors and launch their careers. Well, seven years later, that's yet to happen. Based off the info derived from IMDb, I'd say this flick only served to slam doors in their faces hard enough to knock them on their asses. And the phenomena isn't relegated to just this film.
The overwhelming majority of the cast of 2002's "Ken Park" was never seen on screen again. The leads in 2006's "Shortbus" largely disappeared and one nearly lost her day job. I think it's profoundly wrong to prey on the masses of struggling, hand to mouth actors to populate a film that will most likely hurt their acting prospects and shrink their non-showbiz opportunities as well.
Directors like Michael Winterbottom should stop kidding themselves and be honest about what they're doing when they set out to craft a film like this. They need to be especially honest about the damage it can wreak on their actors. Deep down they have to know this, since they will never try to snag A-list talent. This is why I say, for the next high art film, when the writer/director is looking to cast, he/she should seriously consider the adult film industry.
Adult film performers are comfortable in front of a camera and, with direction, can act well enough. "Baise Moi" serves as a prime example of how such a film can benefit from their participation. For a mainstream example, look at Sasha Grey in "Entourage". She's an adult film actress, and, while nowhere near being in the same league as an Oscar contender, the lady gets the job done.
What it all boils down to is the explicit sex, since this is going to be more powerful than any dialogue, comedic or action heavy scene could ever hope to be. Two struggling actors conned into having sex on screen are going to be horrendously (prom night level) awkward. Worst of all, depending on your gender, persuasion and taste, they may not be the kind of people you'd ever want to think about in a sexual context to begin with. But, with adult film actors, this wouldn't be a concern.
For one, they're usually models. Also, they're used to going to these private places, on camera, and have enough confidence with their bodies to lend these scenes the kind of charisma needed when filming explicit material. Best of all, it would do nothing to harm them in the long run. If anything, it would show them to be more versatile than just randomly lamenting to the tune of "oh yeah, oh yeah". It would be a win-win for all parties, right?
At the end of the day, I'm just a straight dude, living in the 21st century, who blogs on the net every so often. So, obviously, I'm not terribly opposed to viewing risqué, explicit or hardcore content. I just don't want to see anymore fledgling actors and actresses exploited to their detriment for films that, like "9 Songs", are nowhere near being worthy of their sacrifice. Because to use someone's dreams and aspirations to, ultimately, victimize them feels deeply wrong.