Basic Instinct is a 1992 neo-noir erotic thriller directed by Paul Verhoeven. The screenplay is written by Joe Eszterhas. The film is about as the name suggests, a basic instinct, that is carnal desire. A game of manipulation intermingled with lots of sex.
The film is a classic whodunnit but with an erotic twist to it. It stars Sharon Stone who plays Catherine Trammel, the brilliant writer slash psychotic killer who adores manipulation and control. Now, for a heroine like her, we need bait. And Nick Curran played by Michael Douglas fits the description like a key in a lock. A homicide detective recovering from tragic accidents; divorce and shooting pedestrians on duty. He’s off booze and cigarettes, meaning he’s edgy so easier to push his buttons. And just like that, Trammel’s got herself a new boy toy to play with and kill. And not to mention, make money with. Nick walks right into the trap, just as anyone would, I mean heck, look at Miss Trammel.
What’s interesting though is that even though Nick deep down knows it was her, still gets lured in. It was just too damn hard to not give in to the temptation. It says a lot about how strong our carnal desires can actually be and they might as well just drive us to, not just skate on thin ice, but jump right on it, rendering the flight or fight response silent. No wonder temptation is a devil in disguise.
One of the key things which make a thriller a thriller is the music. Or in some cases, lack thereof. The music in the film is jarring. For instance, when Nick and Catherine first meet, boy is the music intense. It’s not a thriller thing. It’s a Jerry Goldsmith thing. Along with films like this one, he has done music composing for films like Mulan and Looney Tunes. The extreme anticipation we feel when she’s on top of him and we’re not sure whether he’ll make it past the climax is heightened by the urgent music. As if we needed any of that. But certainly adds more drama.
The most brilliant thing about this film though has to be the screenplay. A perfectly twisted plot that has two stories enmeshed together. Very seldom does a film have two fade-outs at the end of a film. The first fade-out is for the plot line in which Beth is the killer and in the second one, it is Catherine. Just like Trammel toys around with Nick, the story toys with the audience who are waiting to get the answer to the whodunnit but never really do. Rather, they get two answers.
Sharon Stone is the very essence of this film; without her, there isn’t much of a lasting worth to the film. We can’t talk about Basic Instinct without talking about the iconic crossing-leg scene. It was very ballsy, considering it could’ve broken her entire career, but it did the opposite. This film brought a completely new angle to pleasure and desire. A woman can have sex for just sex and have an entire life full of sex without having kids. And not only does she not get punished for having this ‘eccentric lifestyle’ but kills for pleasure. Not only does she decide who she gets to sleep with but also who gets to live to sleep with someone again. She exercises total control.
Almost three decades later, this film has still managed to uphold its reputation as a seminal portrayal of sexuality in mainstream Hollywood cinema. This film is special for plenty of reasons and you’ll be surprised to know that eye candy isn’t the only winning trait for this one.
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