BASIC INSTINCT
A film review by Frank Maloney
Copyright 1992 Frank Maloney
BASIC INSTINCT is a movie by Paul Verhoeven, written by Joe Eszterhaz. It stars Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone. Rated R, for nudity, sex, and violence.
BASIC INSTINCT is a difficult movie to write about, for me. Those of you who have been kind enough to read my reviews in the past know that I have often complained about the treatment of gay people in Hollywood movies, which seldom depict us as other than victims or maniacs. Paul Verhoeven (ROBOCOP, TOTAL RECALL, SPETTERS, FLESH & BLOOD, THE FOURTH MAN) and his newest movie are under a very vocal, high profile attack by gay, bi, and women's groups. And I'm not at all sure where I want to come down in this dispute now that I've actually seen the film.
Basically, there isn't that much here to review and the importance of the film is far outweighed by the activities of its detractors, who unfortunately are going to sell a lot of tickets for TriStar by making BASIC INSTINCT a news story. The film is gripping and involving to a degree whilst one is actually watching it, but once out of the theater one is struck by how little there was to it, by the egregious holes and murkiness in the plot, and by the superficiality of the film. I don't feel that trash is important enough to make a cause celebre out of, and this is a very trashy divertisement.
It has its moments, no matter how fleeting. For the afficionado of the aging, flattening male butt, there's a nude scene involving Michael Douglas. There's a delightful guest appearance by Dorothy Malone, looking well groomed, if not a little craggy. And most importantly, there is Sharon Stone, who is kind of like a Madonna who can act. She's aggressively sexual, stylish, hip, mocking, and smart. Ironically, her character, one that is attracting a lot of the protest energy, is the best defense of the movie's intentions (as non-homophobic); her bisexuality is unapologetic, taken for granted, and celebrated as a strength.
Michael Douglas's character, a troubled San Francisco homicide detective, is not particularly attractive or a very compelling apologia for heterosexuality, by contrast. He pretty much rapes his ex-lover (Jeanne Tripplehorn, who makes an interesting performance herself); he makes a really sleazy, homophobic remark to the Stone character's lesbian lover; he's basically a loose cannon, a bad cop, and not a very nice person. Douglas does all this with his usual delivery. Indeed, he is largely repeating his role in FATAL ATTRACTION, right down to his I'm-so-hot-I-can't-be-denied, love-making attack.
BASIC INSTINCT is like cotton candy. Touch it and it melts. Try to make sense of the plot, you cannot. It works only as long as you're in the dark in its compulsive clutches. Oh, it looks very good; Jan de Bont, Verhoeven's cinematographer, delivers a very attractive look. And Jerry Goldsmith's music is fine. But it's all surfaces, a thriller that cannot stand the light of day.
I cannot recommend BASIC INSTINCT to you; not because its sexual politics are held to be controversial by some of my brothers and sisters, but because it is not a very good movie. If you must see it, to find out what all the hubbub is about, go to a cheap matinee.
-- Frank Richard Aloysius Jude Maloney .
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