DVD Review: 9 songs

DVD Reviews

By Andy McKeague Jun 12, 2005, 10:50 GMT

Have you ever been in love ? Have you ever listened to a song that had memories flooding in ? I think we all have. Songs are those emotional beasts that we play for different moods and different memories; we have one for that first kiss, that first girlfriend, or sadly for that break-up.

Michael Winterbottom has been relatively busy recently, with another movie just about to finish, 'A Cock and Bull Story', and hot on the heels of his hi-tech romance thriller 'Code 46' comes '9 songs', and no pun intended. This film has caused some tabloid coverage due to its frank depiction of sexual acts, but it is not sex just for sex sake. Don’t shy away. Here he tells a tale of love, retold in flashes as the memories are rekindled, 9 songs, 2 lovers, 1 year.

"Whatever Happened To My Rock and Roll" by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Matt (Kieran O'Brien) meets Lisa (Margot Stilley) at a gig and the pair head back to Matt's flat to have sex with each other. They are young and passion is flowing, exploring the unknowns of each other as the camera lingers on, cut with the flashing lights from the Brixton Academy. Matt smiles as he wakes up to see the tall thin body of his night’s bed partner. On his face is the look of wanting more, not just a mere one nights stand, perhaps a relationship has started.

"C'mon C'mon" by The Von Bondies

They enjoy a gig together, going out as a couple, their first night in the place they met. Things are fresh and new. They can’t help touching and holding each other, wanting every moment of the other’s attention. Making breakfast becomes as sexual as being in bed. With Nyman’s musical accompaniment, the speckled lighting through the curtains and the honesty of the dialogue makes this a thought we all would wish to cherish. Spending more time with each other, more and more of each character comes out. When Matt asks if they will ever make love without a condom, he is asking for more intimacy, wearing his heart on his sleeve.

Just a curio, why do all female bass players look sexy as hell ?

"Fallen Angel" by Elbow

This time at a gig, they are not spending their time on the floor dancing, they are at the back, embracing and kissing as the music plays on. Matt feels closer and closer to this girl in front of him. We head off with them for a car trip, playing word games during their journey and then they are sharing snippets of past relationships. Mundane things as shaving can be a shared experience and the intimacy of the bathroom is played out in simple frankness. When they visit the pebbled beach the next day, Matt spouts those three tiny little words that mean so much. This 21 year-old girl has him, hook, line and sinker. She responds the same, but you feel that it might only be a reply and not a heart felt encore, but Matt has different eyes than we do.

"Movin' On Up" by Primal Scream

Another gig another memory. They talk of stories of sex, and with their sexual acts increasing, they start to play more in the bedroom. Using a belt and a stocking as a blindfold, games of trust and fantasy are shared.

"You Were The Last High" by The Dandy Warhols

Things are starting to slow down, Lisa starts to spend more time away from Matt and little by little the heat of the relationship is simmering away, not boiling as it started with. Matt feels like an onlooker instead of a lover as Lisa pains away on her own, relieving herself rather than sharing her passionate moments. A drift is forming.

"Slow Life" by Super Furry Animals

“Five thousand people in a room and you can still feel alone” Matt says to himself being at a gig on his own for the first time during his relationship. It seems that Lisa did not want to come. Is there is an uncertainty on the horizon ? Typical bickering about nothing in general starts to grind, and Lisa starts to blame Matt for the boredom she is suffering. She is suffering as the pace is not what it once was, and tries to do a role reversal in the bedroom but still it seems forced. Here we have the mood swings of period angst and trying out different things to subdue a boredom that does not exist.

"Jacqueline" by Franz Ferdinand

Matt feels things are wrong; again he uses the Antarctic as a metaphor to explain his feelings, feelings of being claustrophobic and agoraphobic at the same time, as he shares his bed with Lisa.

"Debbie" by Michael Nyman

They spend a night in the city in a hotel, and go to a Michael Nyman concert to celebrate Matt’s birthday, but he will not forgot this for a different reason. Lisa decides to spoil and then shock him in almost the same breath. To him she is like a smiling assassin as she unveils her intent. Matt’s heart is broken but seeks solace between the legs of his partner. She shrugs off his hurt casually by saying that you have to have faith in people.

"Love Burns" by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

We are back to watching the band play where it all started from; a year on and Matt has only his memories.

The two mains are great, although you cannot help feeling sorry for Matt, as Lisa, although honest, has some coldness to her character. The parts were played out mostly to an improvised script, leaving the dialogue to the actors; which makes it seem all the more natural and unrehearsed. Yes the sex is graphic but it is an 18 after all, and if you were one of those that felt a little too shy to watch the explicitness of this movie on the big screen then you now have your chance.

The great thing about Winterbottom’s film is that it is a series of memories from Matt. We the viewer are a voyeuristic fly on the wall of his thoughts. There is no need for any great development of the characters and giving of explanations, as we just see the events as they unfold. And let's face it, in a relationship not every day is exciting and full of events; that's life. Matt chooses to think of his short time with Lisa through their sexual encounters while in the barren frozen plains of the Antarctic. He remembers her smell, and her touch, her breath, and her hair, and that gives him warmth.

The remainder of the extras have interviews with Winterbottom, O'Brien and Stilley. They are amusing and insightful into their thoughts to the characters. Winterbottom quips that after filming all the bands they picked eight songs but did not like that as a title. An introduction to the film comes in the way of a short interviewed segment with Tom Dewe Mathews, author of ‘Censored: What they didn’t allow you to see and why- Story of Film Censorship’, stating the communications from and to the BBFC and what other recent films (Baise Moi and The Pornographer for example) have courted controversy and why. Without a doubt ‘9 songs’ is a landmark film and we should thank all concerned for it.

For those wanting more of the tunes, there is an option to go straight to them on the extras menu. Or, if you would prefer, go to the offical website link above and you can play some of the videos.