This is Not a Porno

9 Songs (Michael Winterbottom, 2005) [5]
I have to say that the idea here (song, sex, meditation, song, sex, meditation) is something that appealed to me and I very much like the structure that Winterbottom has created. The execution of that structure is something that does become tedious after awhile and almost makes this film what many people want to categorize it as, explicit sex in a mainstream movie. Well, let’s talk about the sex; it’s definitely done much better than a standard porno. The camerawork, minimalist and at times gorgeously done, creates a much more realistic kind of sex than would be found in a Jenna Jameson “film.” Cut in concert footage that at times has a real connection to the overall theme, especially Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, but other times feels too disjointed. I like the idea of Matt meditating over this in his head, but there’s just something about those sequences that don’t work the way I thought they should. But everything about the film reverts back to the sex. It’s kind of a shame that it has to overshadow everything else. I feel that 9 Songs is a film that wants to be about much more than sex. It’s about how the body and various sensory experiences can overtake the mind in a relationship. I just don’t feel that the film expresses this idea well enough.