Basic Instinct (5 Stars)

"Basic Instinct" is a first rate film that is well known for all the wrong reasons. If you mention it to someone they'll start talking about the grand opening in the interrogation scene. And they'll also point out that it features Sharon Stone, a "serious actress", in nude scenes. Yes, that's all true, but this film has so much more going for it. It's so perfectly crafted, everything from the character development to the suspense and action scenes, that it could be called the best film ever made. More than anything else I compare "Basic Instinct" to Alfred Hitchcock's films. It's the sort of film he might have made, about a washed out police detective investigating a beautiful blonde in a story full of twists, except it has more sex.

I think the story is well known. An ex-rock singer is found stabbed to death with an ice pick during sex. His girlfriend was a millionaire authoress who had written a book about a rock singer being killed during sex. The police detective who investigates her falls in love with her.

That's a simple enough story that could have been made into a very bland film in the hands of a less capable director. Paul Verhoeven rose to the task and created the greatest masterpiece of his career. The film is an ode to feminism, maybe a theme that Hitchcock would have avoided. The film is full of strong women and weak men. Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone) is the murderer, as the viewer realises very early in the film, but she uses her intelligence and sexual attraction to guide the police investigations, leading them to the conclusions she wants them to reach. She toys with detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas), telling him that she's writing a book about him in which he will be killed after falling in love with the wrong woman, then tempts him to get closer to her.

In the famous interrogation scene Catherine Tramell opens her legs and lets the police officers see that she's wearing no panties. This is all about control. She sits self-confidently in front of a group of men who are nervous and sweating. Also interesting is her posture afterwards. Her legs are crossed in a way that almost but not quite reveals her crotch. This keeps the men staring at her, hoping for another flash between her legs, unable to concentrate on the interrogation. This is more effective than if she had simply sat with her legs open for the whole interrogation.

Nick is the main focus of her attention, of course. He's given up drinking and smoking, but she entices him to take up both again. While together in bed after sex she feeds him clues about a possible murder suspect, and he is too befuddled to doubt her. Despite the large number of deaths in her past – her parents, her college counsellor, her ex-lovers – he remains convinced of her innocence. She flaunts an ice pick in his presence. She ties him up during sex, to show him that she could kill him at any time if she wanted to.

Catherine's superiority over Nick is emphasised in many details that might not be obvious on first viewing. She's much richer than he is. She has two luxurious houses, he lives in a small apartment. Her car is better and faster than his. She always lets him know when he's welcome and when he isn't, such as initially rejecting his advances in the nightclub. She makes him put his life in danger for her, not just in the sex I mentioned above. She encourages him to pursue her on the road, which almost gets him into a deadly car accident.

Having said all of that, watch out for the smaller details for yourself. The characters are all believable, the scenery is beautiful, and the action is exciting. I can't fault the film in any way.