Basic Instinct (CLASSIC FILM REVIEW)
Released in May 1992, ‘Basic Instinct’ starring Michael Douglas as Nick Curran and Sharon Stone as Catherine Tramell might possibly be my new favourite movie ever!
I was warned before watching Basic Instinct that it was basically porn and there wasn’t much to it other than that, but excluding the uncovered body parts and other romantic shenanigans, I thought the entire plot of the movie was just mesmerising and I was rooting for the police’s suspect, Catherine Tramell for the entire movie. I think the actress and her character is now my forever girl crush.
It sounds absolutely mental saying this, but Catherine Tramell has the intelligence, looks and style, wittiness and cunningness that I aspire to have. She is my new role model, (without the murderer aspect of her personality, of course!)
Fun fact time!: According to IMDB “The movie completely ignored DNA, which had been used in criminal investigations since the mid-1980s. The film was set in the year of its release (1992), by which time DNA was constantly being used for crime investigations.” Can you imagine how short the movie would’ve been if DNA was used to identify the fingerprints of every Ice Pick and gun used in the movie?! The running time would be about 15 minutes max!
My favourite scene of this movie was definitely the interrogation room scene where Catherine left police men, detectives and everyone in between stunned, silent and intimidated by her attitude and looks. Don’t get me wrong, this 100% gives off the impression that Sharon Stones' character was entirely used for the ‘male gaze’, but her ability to command the room, manipulate the men and smoke her cigarette freely gave me a sense of pride, that a woman had that much control of her body and mind. I truly loved it.
I’ve said it before and I’ll 100% say it again. No one makes movies like this anymore, and the director, Paul Verhoeven, also known for ‘Robocop’, ‘Hollowman’, ‘Total Recall’ and about a million more classic movies, did an amazing job at casting, and creating such a classic movie that was the perfect combination of intense, yet mesmerising, that I don’t think a movie like this will ever grace our screens again. It just could never happen, which is unfortunate because I’d love to see something similar with the diversity and film effects prevalent today. I do wish Basic Instinct included more diverse characters, as the movie only had one named black character
and was a predominantly male heavy cast, but as I’ve mentioned in other classic film reviews, movies were a lot less diverse and dynamic back in the day, and that’s something we must accept. Here’s hoping that one day, we’re blessed with a masterpiece like Basic Instint that’s every bit as entertaining, but a lot less discriminating!
I must give a massive shout out to a character I loved: Gus, Nick Currans sidekick definitely grew on me as the movie progressed and I love how loyal he was to his friend throughout. He added the comedy aspect to the movie with his drunk antics and funny one liners and who doesn’t love a funny sidekick. I was super upset he didn’t get a happy ending but what did we really expect to happen aye? Okay, I’m still extremely confused with who was in charge of that evil act? What do we think? Beth or Catherine? Who was obsessed with who? Were the two psychology majors in love and had all this planned out? I don’t know but I definitely didn’t like Beth one bit- or should I say ‘Lisa’?
If you've seen the Netflix Series 'Don't F*ck with Cats', then i'm sure you know about the real life story of a man who replicated Catherine Tramells' evil attacks as he was so obsessed with the movie. Don't worry, i don't love it that much, but I do think it's interesting how much of an impact a movie can have on a person. If you haven't seen the series yet, definitely give it a watch. It's truly scary how far a person will go to replicate their favourite fictional character, and if that were the case for me, i'd paint myself green and move into a swamp in the middle of an enchanted forest!
I believe Basic Instinct had so much depth and unanswered questions that kept me open mouthed and dying to know the ins and outs, especially with that closing scene! I have been told that the sequel isn’t worth the watch and will definitely ruin my whole experience with this movie so I think leaving the movie open ended has given me a chance to create my own ending and forge my own opinion. I’d love to hear what you all think about the movie and what you think really happened, but just know that I loved it!
5/5!
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