9 Songs

A game effort from Winterbottom to attempt pornography as high art finds him in an oddly static and derivative mode, and reminding how much more imaginatively Kubrick attempted the challenge with EYES WIDE SHUT, to say nothing of Lyne’s 9½ WEEKS which this resembles quite closely. It’s compact running time means there is scarce time to really get involved in this couple’s relationship (especially with amateurishly shot, impersonal concert footage taking up another 20 minutes), meaning that it really just devolves to ostentatiously hard-core pornographic footage with a bit of whinging and whining interspersed. Unfortunately O’Brien and Stilley lack any sort of personal chemistry, further emphasising the chilly nature of their sex scenes.