Review: 9 Songs (D)

9 Songs (2005)
Directed by Michael Winterbotton
Starring Kieran O'Brien, Margo Stilley, The Dandy Warhols, Franz Ferdinand
MPAA: UR
Grade: D

Review by Sebastian Francis Kennedy

For all of the hype surrounding this film, one would think that 9 Songs would be a complicated movie. It's not. 9 Songs concerns a couple that has a torrid love affair. They have sex (lots of it) and attend rock concerts together. That's basically the movie. And therein lies the problem.

Michael Winterbottom, the director behind 24 Hour Party People obviously has a strong grasp on storytelling. 24 Hour Party People was a biographical effort that spun a fantastic tale of one man's journey (Tony Wilson). Perhaps that's why I was so disappointed by 9 Songs.

9 Songs is a flat, sex filled collage of one couple's shallow love affair in England. The couple's relationship does not really change much during the film, and at the conclusion of 9 Songs, I was left asking "Is that all there is?" They have sex, then go to concerts. Got it. Where's the movie? If I wanted to see Franz Ferdinand and the Dandy Warhols rock out, I could certainly grab some concert vids.

It is my duty to report that the love scenes in 9 Songs are explicit. The graphic lovemaking here will will certainly offend many. Frankly, I was more offended by the lack of story than the sex scenes. I can't really recommend this film to anyone, except perhaps as a curiosity.