9 songs - Unrated Full Uncut Version
by Michael Winterbottom
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Actor: Cian Ciaran, Huw Bunford, Kieran O'Brien, Margo Stilley, The Dandy WarholsDirector: Michael Winterbottom
Brand: Genius
Cinematographer: Marcel Zyskind
Editor: Michael Winterbottom
Producer: Michael Winterbottom
Writer: Michael Winterbottom
Editor: Mat Whitecross
Producer: Andrew Eaton
Producer: Melissa Parmenter
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Director's Cut, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 71 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-11-22
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Tartan Video
DVD Reviews of 9 songs - Unrated Full Uncut Version
DVD Review: Literate porn? Not sure on either count.
Summary: 3 Stars
9 Songs (Michael Winterbottom, 2004)
The first thing I have to do in this review is confess that after the third horrible music-video segment of the movie, I started fast forwarding through the concert footage. It somehow never occurred to me, as people were marketing this movie to me as "literate porn", that I should take the name of the movie seriously, and that fully half its length would be performances by some of the worst bands to come out of Britain in the past twenty years. (Really, people listen to Franz Ferdinand and enjoy it?) This, I watched over a third of the movie's sixty-seven-minute running time on fast-forward. But, on the other hand, it means that only about half of the movie's sixty-seven-minute running time is actually focused on anything that might be a plot, character development, etc. When it comes right down to it, it's a short film that grew into feature length thanks to the inclusion of the concert footage. I'm sure that were I to sit down and actually pay attention to the nine songs in question, they'd probably provide me with some sort of godawful musical roadmap of the relationship between the two characters whose relationship is chronicled here. After all, that's the kind of thing that Winterbottom so dearly loves, that sort of unsubtle symbolism. After all, when your main character is a glaciologist, and he's flying over the antarctic when we first meet him, if you're not taking that as a sign that the relationship in question will not end well, then perhaps you need to see a few more Michael Winterbottom films.
The basic plot of the movie, if you can call it a plot, is a depiction of the year-long relationship between Matt (Winterbottom regular Kieran O'Brien), the glaciologist mentioned before, and Lisa (Margot Stilley, recently of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People), a college exchange student. Basically, they have sex, go to a bad concert, engage in two brief conversations (and/or engage in one brief conversation and take drugs). Repeat nine times.
I will applaud Winterbottom for actually making a "literate porn" movie; the sex is very much a part of the storyline and never comes off as gratuitous, and both Stilley and O'Brien are good enough actors that the relationship seems genuine from beginning to end. On the other hand, one wag at IMDB said that this is just a notch above the "porn dramas" of the seventies (back when porn movies still had plot, character, etc.), and I agree with that assessment, though I don't necessarily attach the same derogatory meaning to it as does he. Where Winterbottom gets that notch is in keeping to this same storyline, keeping us with these same two actors, both of whom are obviously very good at what they do, and not making it boring (or as boring as most porn films, anyway). Perhaps that's the reason behind the concert footage--when compared to bad British drug-pop bands, the sex is positively enchanting.
Many have remarked on the complete lack of character development here, but I'm not so sure a lot of critics didn't miss the point here; it seems to me the characters are shown in such a narrow window that the only character development we have a chance to see is in the purview of the relationship. Again, this is right in keeping with Winterbottom's sense of overbearing symbolism, and I'm quite sure it was by design. As such, we're supposed to take away from the movie that these people are their relationship, which depending on how you take it is either a shocking condemnation of the humanity of these characters or a (surprisingly) subtle dig at the porn industry. I'd like to believe it's the latter, but again, the former seems right in keeping with that Winterbottom sense of symbolism.
I don't want to make it sound like I despise all of Winterbottom's movies, or for that matter that I despised this Winterbottom movie in particular. Had I seen it on the big screen and not had a fast-forward button, to be sure, I'd probably be giving it a much harsher review. May I reiterate again how absolutely horrid the music in this movie is? (Why on earth is anyone still listening to Primal Scream, for the love of pete?) But these two characters are, if not sympathetic, at least flawed in ways that most audience members should be able to identify with, which should allow for at least some empathy. And they may be unlikable, but they're not bad people, really; we can root for them. As the characters, so the film. Not something I'll be watching again any time soon, but I'm glad I watched it. ***
Description of 9 songs - Unrated Full Uncut Version
Matt, a young glaciologist, soars across the vast, silent, icebound immensities of the South Pole as he recalls his love affair with Lisa. They meet at a mobbed rock concert in a vast music hall - London's Brixton Academy. They are in bed at night's end. Together, over a period of several months, they pursue a mutual sexual passion whose stages unfold in counterpoint to nine live-concert songs. Featuring nine live concert performances not available anywhere else by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Von Bondies, Elbow, Primal Scream, The Dandy Warhols, Super Furry Animals, Franz Ferdinand and Michael Nyman.Maverick director Michael Winterbottom wondered about the double standard of why novels can have explicit sex scenes and be legit and films could not. So his short film of a relationship based solely on sex and a love for music is the result of that thought. If the definition of a porn film is to shoot actors performing graphic sex scenes for real, then 9 Songs qualifies. It certainly doesn't feel or look like your standard whoopdee-do XXX feature. It's as glossy and low-budget arty as Winterbottom's 24 Hour Party People or I Want You. But yeah, Matt and Lisa do everything to each other, and the actors are not "just acting" in some of the sex scenes. No matter how landmark the movie might be, there is not much story here (at least a book with hot sex often has a good story to it). Lisa is an American drifter in London who hooks up with Matt, a scientist who studies glaciers in Antarctica. They have sex and visit nine rock concerts including Franz Ferdinand and The Dandy Warhols. As advertised, you can't find these musical performances anywhere else, but we just see them from way back in the crowd. The film has an essence of how someone can find bliss in another person's body, and the emotional, magical weight that can hold over you. But that spell doesn't last. Since the sex is real, Winterbottom had to cast unknown actors, and they really don't make an impression, especially with the lack of story. --Doug Thomas
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