It is unclear whether 9 Songs is art laced with pornography, or pornography being passed off as art. The gritty, low-budget film has a simple plot (if you can call it that): Matt, a shy glaciologist,and Lisa, a flighty, selfish American, attend rock concerts and have sex.� And that’s it.� Literally, we’re talking about a film that features only sex,drugs and rock-and-roll – no discussions, no depth, just watching two people doingall of the above.
The feature’s reputation precedes it: rumor has spread like wildfire that Songs is the most sexually-explicit English-language film ever to receive mainstream distribution, and odds are most audiences are buying tickets just to see what all the fuss is about. Yes, the film, directed by Brit Michael Winterbottom (24 Hour Party People), often ventures beyond soft and squarely into the realm of hard-core material but, in the end, the film is so overwhelmingly boring that it hardly matters.� Its defenders say it’s art, a subtly-nuanced exploration of an unhealthy relationship, while others have touted it as a pointless parade of indie-rock boys and explicit sex.� If you like porn and the Von Bondies, you’re set, but if you’re looking for a meaningful film, look elsewhere.
Songs‘ main problem is Margo Stilley, model-cum-actress making her film debut. Stilley is a big blank – aside from being annoying (though her character maybe is deliberately so), her delivery is so stilted and her performance so flat, that her acting comes across as, well, of the porn variety.� If you’re presenting a film that contains no exposition of character, no narrative and no substantial scenes of dialogue (read: plot driving or character building), you sure as hell had better make sure your actors can do nuance.� Actor Kieran O’Brien does admirably well with little dialogue, though, more than making up for his co-star’s shortcomings with his rather impressive, ahem, “talent.”�
Despite its many faults, Winterbottom’s abilities as a director keep the film from being a complete throw-away.� Although it delivers the “money shot” on more than one occasion, it still maintains a cinematic integrity, considering its above average cinematography and lighting.Still, some things are better left to the imagination, but “subtle” is not a word in Winterbottom’s vocabulary.� Winterbottom isn’t the first filmmaker to explore a relationship through the sexual component, and he certainly won’t be the last, but it can be and has been done better than this.
Does this film have a higher purpose, or did some stock footage from March of the Penguins get misplaced?� On top of all the grainy concert footage and skin shots, Songs is interspersed with idyllic shots of glaciers,accompanied by Matt’s shallow and unrevealing reflections on Lisa.� Matt tells us Lisa was “beautiful,egotistical, careless and crazy.”� 9 Songs tries to be the first and the last of those, but only manages the middle two – it’s rather full of itself and, really, you shouldn’t careless.�
9 Songs will be released on DVD in the United States on November 22nd
