Film Reviews

Nine Songs

• Rating:
• Director: Michael Winterbottom.
• Starring: Kieran O’Brien, Margot Stilley, The Dandy Warhols, Franz Ferdinand, Primal Scream, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Michael Nyman.
• Details: UK/ 69 mins/ (18s).

Even the running time of Nine Songs is designed to be overtly provocative as Michael Winterbottom's 'drama' attempts to document the relationship between two people who meet at a gig, do a lot of shagging, go to more gigs, do a lot more shagging and not much else. Told mostly in flashback, the vague narrative follows Matt (Kieran O'Brien) and American Lisa (Margot Stilley) who meet at a concert in the Brixton Academy, London. Immediately attracted to each other, they go back to his place and engage in some sexual hi-jinks. For the next several weeks, they go and see a number of bands - including Franz Ferdinand, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, amongst others - with the encore of their evenings being extremely graphic sexual encounters. One of the problems with making a film where full sex is the central tenant is that there must be a very definite reason for its inclusion. While a technically astute film, Nine Songs doesn't appear to be about much at all, with the sexual encounters, like the characters themselves, existing in a void. One could point to the bravery of the two leads in exposing so much of themselves - literally and perhaps, if you were feeling charitable, figuratively - on screen, but their efforts are undermined by the fact that there's no apparent meaning attached to their actions. If Winterbottom, a hugely talented filmmaker, had attempted to deconstruct their relationship in any meaningful fashion, Nine Songs would have worked in much more cohesive fashion. As it is, this is a film about vacuous sex and not much else.

Review by Garreth Murphy