SPOILERS Love, sex, rock and roll. One of the most controversial films of recent years, in 2004 Michael Winterbottom released "9 Songs". Intended as an artistic piece to demonstrate the love of a relationship through sex and a passion for music, the film failed on so many levels. Featuring actual sexual content, the film revolves between music gigs and sex scenes. Whilst there's no argument about the music (one of the finest soundtracks in years), the whole point of the film and it's sexuality are irrelevant.
Matt (Kieran O'Brien) meets Lisa (Margo Stilley) at a gig. Lisa is an American and for a year she lives in London as the two embark upon a passionate love affair.
It's of little real surprise that Stilley didn't want her name associated with this film. Spending the majority of the film naked and in various states of sexual position, she manages to do the unthinkable and remove all emotion and eroticism from a highly erotic act. The sex is more hardcore than most pornography, and yet Michael Winterbottom manages to turn it into an emotionless and benign affair. The film is voyeuristic, but without any sort of relevance to it, the sex becomes irrelevant and after ten minutes, you begin to question why you are watching this garbage.
The actors are awful. Whether in bed or actually clothed (rare), they fail on so many levels to act. Stilley is a weak and aimless actress and O'Brien, whilst he obviously shows signs of standards, is woefully inadequate. This just makes the film even more irrelevant. Most flaws with the film could be easily forgiven if we could just feel any sort of connection or realism about the characters. For 70minutes plus, we watch them engage and communicate, but never once do we actually care about who they are and whether they will actually stay together or not. We know they are a fictitious couple, and through a combination of woeful acting and bad camera work, it is impossible to find any sort of reality.
Of course, events probably would have been better if Michael Winterbottom could have found two actors who have a bit of sexual chemistry. Introducing them to each other only a few days prior to filming, he's found two actors with a complete lack of chemistry and who feel forced.
In fact, mix the woeful actors with Michael Winterbottom's direction, and the film becomes even more dire in your eyes. Whether in the bedroom or at the concert, using a hand-held camera, Winterbottom gives you a vomit inducing image which is incapable of staying still. At the concerts, you feel like you are actually drunkenly dancing in the background to your favourite tracks. That's something really.
Just so as not to be completely unfair to Michael Winterbottom's farce of a film, the soundtrack really is immense. Franz Ferdinand, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Elbow, and others, at least we get to listen to decent music.
Seriously though, the idea of trying to show a year long British relationship is not a particularly bad idea, and the general theory behind the film is actually alright. The problem though is that his final piece is not up to the task. It is badly written, badly acted, badly planned, badly shot, and so unbelievably awful, that everyone involved should feel ashamed.
A good soundtrack and an original concept cannot make a film. By using awful camera angles, minimal plot, no characterisation and a pair of woeful actors with absolutely no sexual chemistry, Michael Winterbottom has created a farce.
Matt (Kieran O'Brien) meets Lisa (Margo Stilley) at a gig. Lisa is an American and for a year she lives in London as the two embark upon a passionate love affair.
It's of little real surprise that Stilley didn't want her name associated with this film. Spending the majority of the film naked and in various states of sexual position, she manages to do the unthinkable and remove all emotion and eroticism from a highly erotic act. The sex is more hardcore than most pornography, and yet Michael Winterbottom manages to turn it into an emotionless and benign affair. The film is voyeuristic, but without any sort of relevance to it, the sex becomes irrelevant and after ten minutes, you begin to question why you are watching this garbage.
The actors are awful. Whether in bed or actually clothed (rare), they fail on so many levels to act. Stilley is a weak and aimless actress and O'Brien, whilst he obviously shows signs of standards, is woefully inadequate. This just makes the film even more irrelevant. Most flaws with the film could be easily forgiven if we could just feel any sort of connection or realism about the characters. For 70minutes plus, we watch them engage and communicate, but never once do we actually care about who they are and whether they will actually stay together or not. We know they are a fictitious couple, and through a combination of woeful acting and bad camera work, it is impossible to find any sort of reality.
Of course, events probably would have been better if Michael Winterbottom could have found two actors who have a bit of sexual chemistry. Introducing them to each other only a few days prior to filming, he's found two actors with a complete lack of chemistry and who feel forced.
In fact, mix the woeful actors with Michael Winterbottom's direction, and the film becomes even more dire in your eyes. Whether in the bedroom or at the concert, using a hand-held camera, Winterbottom gives you a vomit inducing image which is incapable of staying still. At the concerts, you feel like you are actually drunkenly dancing in the background to your favourite tracks. That's something really.
Just so as not to be completely unfair to Michael Winterbottom's farce of a film, the soundtrack really is immense. Franz Ferdinand, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Elbow, and others, at least we get to listen to decent music.
Seriously though, the idea of trying to show a year long British relationship is not a particularly bad idea, and the general theory behind the film is actually alright. The problem though is that his final piece is not up to the task. It is badly written, badly acted, badly planned, badly shot, and so unbelievably awful, that everyone involved should feel ashamed.
A good soundtrack and an original concept cannot make a film. By using awful camera angles, minimal plot, no characterisation and a pair of woeful actors with absolutely no sexual chemistry, Michael Winterbottom has created a farce.