'Basic Instinct': Resisting the Danger
Basic Instinct is one of the most controversial films to come out in Hollywood in recent years, and with good reason. A tale of a femme fatale and her murderous ways has remained popular throughout the years despite having received controversy. And, as many are aware, the film features one of the most prolific and shocking sequences in cinema history - a scene that has been rebooted and paused beyond considerable amount ever since.
Director Paul Verhoeven pays homage to great film noirs like Double Indemnity (1944) and Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958) with his 1992 erotic thriller, Basic Instinct. Verhoeven’s European liberalism bodes him the most suitable director for this project; a liberalism noted in his previous works The Fourth Man (1983), Turkish Delight (1973) and Total Recall (1990).
The film broke the boundaries of contemporary cinema and rejuvenated the neo-noir genre that was considerably lacking throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. The film requires the viewer to be subjective and I, for one, believe Basic Instinct to be a clever piece of work and a landmark in film history in more ways than one.
The film’s opening sequence is less than subtle as we see a man and woman copulating under a ceiling of mirrors as the straddling blonde unexpectedly stabs her lover to death during climax. The bedroom belongs to retired rock star Johnny Boz (Bill Cable) and you assume that his sexual partner is no doubt a younger, groupie-type as such. Whilst this may not be executed in the traditional film noir sense, it is evident from the beginning that we are dealing with a prevailing and unorthodox female character.
We later learn that the suspected female is crime novelist Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone). In her early thirties, Catherine is a psychology graduate who holds a successful literary career whilst remaining the heir to her parents’ million-dollar fortune. She informs us from the start that that she has a keen interest in killer instinct - a concept that she refers to as “suspension of disbelief.”
Catherine exudes sexuality through her ice-blonde hair and sophisticated persona, an attribute that is most evident in the film’s infamous interrogation scene. She is a super-heroine in her intelligence: she is honest; confident and free in her choice of words informing us that she likes to experiment sexually. This character is self-assured in her sexuality; an archetype that mainstream cinema was yet to become familiar with.
Basic Instinct’s prolific interrogation scene is unscrupulous in a variety of ways: as audiences see Stone cross and uncross her legs, we are instantly controlled by its subversion of the female gaze. She’s merely doing what women have been objectified to for years, so why not exploit it? Similar could be said for the film’s previous scene which sees Homicide Detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) peeps whilst Catherine undresses in her bedroom - an act she knows is taking place; a prospect that intimidates him most of all.
The primal reason for our fascination towards Catherine is her hybridity: she is scary but sexy; confident yet sophisticated; she makes it clear that she doesn’t like children so consequently all men are good for to her is sex. It is assumed that she is a typical Black Widow in that she kills men after she is done with them, suggested by Nick's psychiatrist Beth (Jeanne Tripplehorn): “everyone she plays with dies.”
Catherine is the epitome of the male fantasy as she challenges and surpasses the conventional codes of the Hollywood femme fatale. So why is she represented as the villain? Catherine’s intelligence – and lack of maternal instincts – goes against patriarchal and conformist society: she is smart in the workplace; works when she doesn’t need to; and is in control in the bedroom - evident in the scene in which Catherine and Nick fight to maintain the top position during intercourse.
On the other hand, Nick is equally enigmatic: he is charismatic but not typically attractive; and fits the perfect role of the corrupt, confused and divorced cop. The character is introduced in a fairly lewd circumstance as we see him arrive on the first crime scene alongside his partner Gus Moran (George Dzundza). Witnessing the excessive blood and DNA evidence, Gus crudely announces, “He got off before he got off” as Nick merely sniggers. You can see the type of male we are dealing with here.
Nick has a problem with self-restraint as we discover that he has suffered from alcoholism; cocaine addiction; has recently quit smoking; and accidentally killed two tourists whilst on the job. He assures himself that he is doing well, all of which changes swiftly after he meets Catherine. He is drawn to weakness by succumbing to Catherine’s handling in the interrogation scene and soon starts drinking and smoking again. Nick is adamant that Catherine is guilty: not necessarily of murder but of enhancing his weaknesses.
During production, and after the film’s release, Basic Instinct received a lot of flack for its overt sexuality and graphic content, causing a riot on the streets of San Francisco. Gay rights activists protested the film’s representation of gay characters with many feeling that lesbianism and bisexuality was executed with a stigma. Basic Instinct may not have featured necessarily appealing homosexual characters but its heterosexual characters are just as off-putting, if not more.
Basic Instinct invigorated a motif for contemporary cinematic sexuality. As a result of the AIDS epidemic towards the end of the 1980s, sex was considered dangerous and was vastly disappearing in film. After the release of the film, soon came the likes of Indecent Proposal (1992), Disclosure (1994) and The Last Seduction (1994): all erotic thrillers that thrive on the development of sexual relationships.
Basic Instinct exists for its sexual content and as a pure, cinematic creation. It is not trying to be ostentatious or ingenious, and is in no way articulate; it is simply matter of fact. The film reminds us that it is not necessarily always about love but that sex is a part of everyday human nature. Verhoeven’s amalgamation of characters simply underlines the stereotypes that have been exploited onscreen for years. Is Basic Instinct simply a place that Hitchcock wouldn’t dare visit? It is a blatant example of masculine ideologies, so what’s there to be afraid of?