The erotic drama, 91/2 Weeks, from Britisher Adrian Lyne, a usually reliabe commercial director (Fatal Attraction), was eagerly awaited due to its source material and controversial subject matter, not to mention the presence of two popular stars at the time, Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke.
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Based on the memoirs of the same name by Elizabeth McNeill, the film centers on a Manhattan art gallery employee who is involved in a brief yet dangerously intense affair with a mysterious Wall Street broker.
Domestic Flop, International Hit
Dismissed by most critics as silly and dull, 91/2 Weeks was a commercial flop, grossing only $7 million at the domestic box-office, against a budget of $17 million.
However the film was a huge success internationally, particularly in Australia, Canada and the UK, making $100 million worldwide, before acquiring a large following on video and then DVD.
Our Grade: C (*1/2* out of *****)
Detailed Plot
The film’s title alludes to the affair’s duration between Wall Street exec John Gray (Rourke) and SoHo art gallery employee Elizabeth McGraw (Basinger), who is a recent divorcee.
Aiming to test and to push Elizabeth’s sexual and ethical boundaries, John initiates and then controls a series of “experimental” sexual rituals and practices. Succumbing to his ego and phallus, Elizabeth goes through a gradual downward spiral toward emotional and mental breakdown.
Elizabeth first sees John in China Town, while grocery shopping with co-worker Molly (Margaret Whitton). She sees him again at a street market in Greenwich Village. John charms her by buying the scarf she couldn’t afford, wrapping it around her.
They start dating, and she is increasingly subjected to John’s peculiar habits of blindfolding, though at first she is reluctant to comply with his sexual fantasies. He continues to court, buying her a gold watch, so that she can think about him.
She then takes his imperative further by masturbating at her workplace at the designated time of 12pm. John also masterminds an extended erotic food play sequence. However, Elizabeth doesn’t understand his reluctance to meet her friends despite their growing intimacy.
Elizabeth’s confusion increases when, left alone at his flat, she examines the drawers of his well-organized closet, discovering a photo with another woman. Demanding to know if she went through his stuff, John says he would punish her if she violated his trust.
Before long, their bond escalates into sexual assault until she concedes to his violent struggle to overpower her. Their sexual intensity grows when they have sex in public places.
Motivated by growing need for psycho-sexual stimulation, Elizabeth stalks John to his office in the Stock Exchange and obeys his command to cross-dress in men’s corporate attire for a restaurant date. Upon leaving the place, some men mistake them for a gay couple and shout “Faggot!” A fight ensues, and Elizabeth picks up the knife of one of their assailants and stabs him in the buttocks; the attackers flee.
Elizabeth and John have hot sex on site, after which John’s games become even more sado-masochistic. He buys a horse whip, which Elizabeth uses in a striptease sequence for his voyeuristic pleasure.
The cumulative effect of the experiences is to intensify Elizabeth’s sexual dependency and emotional vulnerability. When she sees her ex-husband at her art gallery, her ambivalence about him makes her receptive to John’s message on her answering machine, telling her to meet him at a hotel room. John blindfolds her at the room, and a Hispanic prostitute starts caressing Elizabeth, as John observes them. The prostitute removes Elizabeth’s blindfold and starts working on John. Elizabeth violently intervenes, and flees the hotel
Later, at an adult entertainment venue, John spots her in a crowd of men watching a porn show. She sees John and starts kissing a random man in the crowd. Moments later, John and Elizabeth are tightly interlocked in an intense embrace.
After spending the night at John’s apartment, John realizes he will never see her again. He proceeds to relate details of his life, including revelations about his mother, a grocery store check-out girl.
In the very last, ambiguous scene, Elizabeth states it is too late for such personal trust and leaves the apartment. John begins his usual countdown to 50, hoping she would back before he is done.
For all the eroticism promised, 91/2 Weeks is ultimately a shallow, titilating tale, consisting of scenes that feel like glossy ads, resulting in a listless movie that lacks spirit or soul.
As played by Basinger, who began her career as a model, Elizabeth comes across as a woman none-to-bright, lacking any self-awareness.
Sequel and Prequel
In 1997, Anne Goursaud helmed a direct-to-video sequel, starring Mickey Rourke and Angie Everhart.
In 1998, a straight-to-video prequel, The First 9½ Weeks, was made but without any of the original actors.
One of Year’s Worst Films
The film was nominated for three Golden Rasberries: Worst Actress (Kim Basinger), Worst Song (“I Do What I Do”), and Worst Screenplay.
Cast
Mickey Rourke as John Gray
Kim Basinger as Elizabeth McGraw
Margaret Whitton as Molly
David Margulies as Harvey
Christine Baranski as Thea
Karen Young as Sue
William De Acutis as Ted
Dwight Weist as Farnsworth
Roderick Cook as Sinclair, the Critic
Credits:
Directed by Adrian Lyne
Screenplay by Patricia Knop, Zalman King, Sarah Kernochan, based on Nine and a Half Weeks by Ingeborg Day
Produced by Antony Rufus-Isaacs, Zalman King
Cinematography Peter Biziou
Edited by Caroline Biggerstaff, Tom Rolf
Music by Jack Nitzsche
Distributed by MGM/UA Entertainment Co. (US)
Release date: Feb 21, 1986
Running time: 118 minutes
Budget $17 million
Box office $100 million
