9½ Weeks

9+1⁄2 Weeks
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Adrian Lyne
Screenplay by	Sarah Kernochan Zalman King Patricia Louisianna Knop
Based on	Nine and a Half Weeks by Ingeborg Day
Produced by	Mark Damon Sidney Kimmel Zalman King Antony Rufus-Isaacs
Starring	Mickey Rourke Kim Basinger
Cinematography	Peter Biziou
Edited by	Caroline Biggerstaff Ed Hansen Tom Rolf Mark Winitsky
Music by	Jack Nitzsche
Production companies	Galactic Films Jonesfilm Producers Sales Organization Triple Ajaxxx Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributed by	MGM/UA Entertainment Co.
Release date	February 14, 1986 (1986-02-14)
Running time	117 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Languages	English Spanish
Budget	$17 million
Box office	$100 million[2]

9+1⁄2 Weeks is a 1986 American erotic romantic drama film directed by Adrian Lyne, and starring Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke. Basinger portrays a New York City art gallery employee who has a brief yet intense affair with a mysterious Wall Street broker, played by Rourke. The screenplay by Sarah Kernochan, Zalman King and Patricia Louisianna Knop is adapted from the 1978 memoir of the same name by Austrian-American author Ingeborg Day, under the pseudonym "Elizabeth McGraw".

The film was completed in 1984, but did not get released until February 1986. Considered too explicit by its American distributor, the film was heavily edited for release in the United States,^[3] where it was a box office bomb, grossing $6.7 million on a $17 million budget.^[4] It also received mixed reviews at the time of its release. However, its soundtrack sold well and the film itself became a huge success internationally in its unedited version, particularly in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, making $100 million worldwide.^[2] It has also acquired a large fanbase on video and DVD and has developed a cult following.^[5]

Plot[]

The title of the film refers to the duration of a relationship between Wall Street arbitrageur John Gray and divorced SoHo art gallery employee Elizabeth McGraw in her mid-20s. John initiates and controls the various experimental sexual practices of this volatile relationship to push Elizabeth's boundaries. In doing so, Elizabeth experiences a gradual downward spiral toward an emotional breakdown.

Elizabeth first sees John in New York City at a Chinese grocer, and later at a street fair where she decides against buying an expensive scarf. John wins her heart when he eventually produces that scarf. They start dating, and Elizabeth is increasingly subjected to John's behavioral peculiarities; he blindfolds Elizabeth, who is at first reluctant to comply with his sexual demands, but eventually surrenders to them. He gives her an expensive gold watch, and instructs her to use it to think about him touching her every day at noon. She takes this imperative even further by masturbating at her workplace at the designated time.

Elizabeth wants to include John in her life and meet her friends, but he makes it clear he only wishes to see her in the evenings, and instructs her to see her friends in the daytime. Elizabeth's confusion about John increases when he leaves her alone at his apartment. She examines his closet until she discovers a photograph of him with another woman, April Tover. John asks her if she went through his things, declaring that he will punish her. She attacks him. He then sexually assaults her.

Elizabeth's heightened need for psychosexual stimulation drives her to stalk John to his office. When they have lunch and she mentions she would like to "be one of the guys," he arranges for her to crossdress for a rendezvous. On leaving the establishment, two men hurl a homophobic slur when they mistake John and Elizabeth for a gay couple. A fight ensues. Elizabeth picks up a knife from one of the attackers and stabs one of them in the buttocks and both attackers flee. After the fight, Elizabeth reveals a wet tank-top and has sex onsite with John with intensely visceral passion. Following this encounter, John's sexual games acquire sadomasochistic elements.

Rather than satisfying or empowering Elizabeth, such experiences intensify her emotional vulnerability. In a scene at her home, she feels humane simple things: watering a flower, hearing little kids laugh on a swing. While later meeting at a hotel room, John blindfolds her. A prostitute enters the room, and 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, with John in pursuit. They run until they find themselves in an adult entertainment venue. Elizabeth enters a room where a group of men are watching a couple have sex. Elizabeth, visibly upset, notices John watching her, and she starts kissing the man next to her. This affects John, and he moves towards her. Moments later, John and Elizabeth gravitate towards each other, finding themselves interlocked in each other's seemingly inescapable embrace.

Elizabeth's exhibition with the artist Farnsworth finally happens. The humanity of Farnsworth is a clear contrast with a futile frenzy of the crowd. In a sad scene, Farnsworth, clearly uncomfortable at the superficial drunk party, watches Elizabeth hiding in a corner, watching him in turn, and crying in a catharsis. Elizabeth understands she needs love not sensuality, she needs to leave John and she leaves the party and calls him. The following morning, we see Elizabeth has spent the night at John's. She gets up, and slowly packs her belongings from his apartment. When John realizes she is leaving, he feels a need to share with her humane details about his life. Elizabeth tells him that it is too late as she leaves the apartment. John begins a mental countdown from 50, hoping she will come back by the time he is finished. As in the beginning of the movie, Elizabeth is shown walking among the crowd, and this time she's crying, yet we feel she's a changed better person and she brought a bit of goodness in the world around, since in the previous scene even John talked of his real nature, stepping out of his pervert sensual pursuit.

Cast[]

Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger.

Production[]

Source material for the film[]

The film was a significant departure from the much darker tone of the novel it was based upon. In 9½ Weeks: A Memoir of a Love Affair, John engages in criminal behavior and coerces Elizabeth into committing a violent mugging in an elevator. The book culminates in a quasi-rape scenario that leaves an increasingly permissive Elizabeth in mental anguish, and he takes her to a mental hospital–never to return to her again. The film ends on a somber tone, and there is no mention of the psychiatric breakdown that John inflicted upon his lover, though her mental anguish is frequently implied, especially near the end of the film.

Music[]

The main single released from the 9+1⁄2 Weeks: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was "I Do What I Do", performed by Duran Duran bass guitarist John Taylor, giving his first solo singing performance during a hiatus in Duran Duran's career. The song reached No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #42 on the UK Singles Chart. Music for the score was composed by Taylor and Jonathan Elias. Original music for the movie was also written by Jack Nitzsche, but his compositions are not included on the soundtrack.

The soundtrack also included tracks from Luba, Bryan Ferry, Dalbello, Corey Hart, Joe Cocker ("You Can Leave Your Hat On"), Devo, Eurythmics and Stewart Copeland. Winston Grennan's reggae "Savior" as well as Jean Michel Jarre's "Arpeggiator", played during the sex scene on the stairs in the rain, were not included on the record.

Release[]

Home media[]

In 1998, MGM Home Entertainment released an "uncut, uncensored version" on DVD that was 117 minutes.^[6] The film was released by Warner Home Video on Blu-ray in the United States on March 6, 2012.

Reception[]

Critical response[]

9+1⁄2 Weeks has a 61% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 23 reviews. The critical consensus reads: "9 1/2 Weeks' famously steamy sex scenes titillate though the drama unfolding between the beddings is relatively standard for the genre."^[7] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C–" on an A+ to F scale.^[8]

The film was championed by some critics. Roger Ebert praised the film, giving it three and a half stars out of four, stating: "A lot of the success of 9+1⁄2 Weeks is because Rourke and Basinger make the characters and their relationship convincing." He further elaborated by saying that their relationship was believable, and unlike many other characters in other erotic films at that time, the characters in this movie are much more real and human.^[9]

Over time, some critics have warmed to the film and audiences gave it somewhat of a legacy thanks to its success in the rental market. It performed very well in Europe, particularly in Italy, France and also in Latin America. Its success in France was so strong that it played for five years at a Paris cinema, earning approximately $100 million.^[10] In São Paulo, Brazil, it played for 30 months in the cult movie house Cine Belas Artes from 1986 to 1989.^[11]

Accolades[]

The film was nominated for three categories at the 1986 Golden Raspberry Awards, Worst Actress (Kim Basinger, who lost to Madonna for Shanghai Surprise), Worst Original Song ("I Do What I Do" by Jonathan Elias, John Taylor, Michael Des Barres, which lost to "Love or Money" from Under the Cherry Moon), and Worst Screenplay (Patricia Louisianna Knop, Zalman King, Sarah Kernochan, which lost to Howard the Duck). The film gained a huge following on home video, and in spite of its reception, both Basinger and Rourke became huge stars.

Year-end lists[]

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

• 2002: AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – Nominated^[12]

Cultural impact[]

• The film was the inspiration behind the band Soda Stereo’s 1986 song "Persiana Americana".
• The film was the inspiration behind J-pop singer Akina Nakamori's 1986 album Cross My Palm and K-pop singer Sunmi’s 2018 release "Heroine".^[13]
• The film was mentioned in Joaquín Sabina’s song “Y si amanece por fin” from his 1990 album Mentiras Piadosas.
• Kim Basinger's depiction on this film was the inspiration for the physical appearance of the character Samus Aran from the Nintendo videogame series Metroid.^[14]

Related films[]

In 1997, a sequel titled Love in Paris was released direct-to-video. It stars Rourke and Angie Everhart and was directed by Anne Goursaud.

In 1998, a prequel titled The First 9½ Weeks starred Paul Mercurio and Clara Bellar. It was a straight-to-video film.

A parody of the original film, 9+1⁄2 Ninjas!, was released in 1991.^[15]

See also[]

• Sex in film

References[]

Bibliography[]

• Briggs, Joe Bob (2005). Profoundly Erotic: Sexy Movies that Changed History. New York: Rizzoli. ISBN 0-7893-1314-6.

External links[]

• 9+1⁄2 Weeks at IMDb
• 9+1⁄2 Weeks at AllMovie
• 9+1⁄2 Weeks at Rotten Tomatoes
• 9+1⁄2 Weeks at Box Office Mojo