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9 Songs

  • 2004
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 11m
IMDb RATING
4.8/10
25K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,013
96
Kieran O'Brien and Margo Stilley in 9 Songs (2004)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:06
1 Video
72 Photos
Coming-of-AgeSteamy RomanceDramaMusicRomance

In London, intense sexual encounters take place between an American college student, named Lisa, and an English scientist, named Matt, between attending rock concerts.In London, intense sexual encounters take place between an American college student, named Lisa, and an English scientist, named Matt, between attending rock concerts.In London, intense sexual encounters take place between an American college student, named Lisa, and an English scientist, named Matt, between attending rock concerts.

  • Director
    • Michael Winterbottom
  • Writer
    • Michael Winterbottom
  • Stars
    • Kieran O'Brien
    • Margo Stilley
    • Robert Levon Been
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    4.8/10
    25K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,013
    96
    • Director
      • Michael Winterbottom
    • Writer
      • Michael Winterbottom
    • Stars
      • Kieran O'Brien
      • Margo Stilley
      • Robert Levon Been
    • 239User reviews
    • 128Critic reviews
    • 43Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 2 nominations total

    Videos1

    9 Songs
    Trailer 2:06
    9 Songs

    Photos72

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    Top cast34

    Edit
    Kieran O'Brien
    Kieran O'Brien
    • Matt
    Margo Stilley
    Margo Stilley
    • Lisa
    Robert Levon Been
    Robert Levon Been
    • Self - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
    • (uncredited)
    Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
    Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
    • Themselves
    • (uncredited)
    Don Blum
    • Self
    • (uncredited)
    Marcie Bolen
    • Self
    • (uncredited)
    Huw Bunford
    • Self - Super Furry Animals
    • (uncredited)
    Cian Ciaran
    • Self - Super Furry Animals
    • (uncredited)
    The Dandy Warhols
    • Themselves
    • (uncredited)
    Elbow
    • Themselves
    • (uncredited)
    Franz Ferdinand
    Franz Ferdinand
    • Themselves
    • (uncredited)
    Guy Garvey
    • Self - Elbow
    • (uncredited)
    Bobby Gillespie
    Bobby Gillespie
    • Self - Primal Scream
    • (uncredited)
    Bob Hardy
    • Self - Franz Ferdinand
    • (uncredited)
    Peter Hayes
    • Self - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
    • (uncredited)
    Dafydd Ieuan
    • Self - Super Furry Animals)
    • (uncredited)
    Nick Jago
    • Self - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
    • (uncredited)
    Richard Jupp
    • Self - Elbow
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Michael Winterbottom
    • Writer
      • Michael Winterbottom
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews239

    4.824.7K
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    Featured reviews

    6BA_Harrison

    Sex and Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll.

    In 'the most sexually explicit film in the history of British cinema', as the hype reads, Lisa (Margo Stilley) and Matt (Kieran O'Brien) spend their free time snorting coke, looking rather bored at rock gigs, and boning each other.

    Needless to say, there are plenty of moments of graphic nookie between stars Stilley (a little too young and inexperienced to be taking on such a daring film role, maybe) and O'Brien (who, judging by his DVD commentary, seems to have had a whale of a time), lots of rough and ready music footage shot at various London gigs, and some pretentious bilge about life in the Antarctic, all accompanied by a monotonous voice-over.

    Is 9 Songs a bona fide work of art, voyeuristic porn masquerading as art, a realistic study of an intimate relationship, an exploitative piece of trash, or a risqué promo for up and coming rock bands? I have no idea: it really is very hard to fathom out what Winterbottom and Co.'s intentions were for making this film, although I'm guessing the real answer is, 'it's whatever you want it to be'.

    Viewers will watch 9 Songs for their own personal reasons (to become aroused; for intellectual discussion at dinner parties; as ammunition for attacking liberal types; or just to see what the fuss is about) and enjoy it accordingly. I thought it passed 66 minutes quite painlessly—the action was hot and the music was cool—but for me, perhaps the most interesting thing about 9 Songs is seeing how the film will affect the stars' careers in the long term, and guessing where this whole 'real sex in cinema' trend will end (Brad and Angelina going at it on Screen 1 at the local multiplex?!?!).
    5maatmouse

    A Michael Winterbottom curiosity

    I came to this Michael Winterbottom film from one of his previous efforts starring Samantha Morton and Tim Robbins. I had never heard of him as a director and when Sight and Sound (the house magazine of the BFI) did an article on him I thought he was worthy of attention.

    Another reason for seeing this film was the promise of being able to watch a couple having actual sex and no merely faked orgasms and suggested oral sex either and no pornography. I quite wanted to be reminded of the reasons why two people can get together because of what they have in common.

    Winterbottom's film is not pornography at all. It is merely a study of a relationship seen through the context of real sex (what nearly all of us have experienced once we are a certain age (18+ usually) and are not bound by religious considerations ie the Catholic priesthood) and popular music. That's all. And the cast are two everyday folk. They are not artificially enhanced porn actors or glossed up dolls for the benefit of the viewer. It is a very much warts and all film, although I have much admiration for Winterbottom to persuade any actor to show the camera (and thus the audience) his real erection and later orgasm.

    Once the novelty of watching real adult sex wears off, however, there is little else left and that's the real disappointment of this film. Nevertheless it is an adult movie and some may enjoy it.
    rogerdarlington

    An anti-climax

    In the (admittedly unlikely) eventuality that someone wandered into a cinema expecting this to be a musical, a rude shock would ensue, since this is the most sexually explicit mainstream film ever exhibited in Britain. Indeed the only mainstream movie I've previously seen to compare in explicitness was the 1976 Japanese work "Ai No Corrida" ("In the Realm Of The Senses"), but this work goes further with a scene of ejaculation, as well as fellatio, cunnilingus and penetrative sex. Since this is the work of accomplished British director Michael Winterbottom ("In This World"), one cannot possibly regard this is as pornography - besides anything else, porn features far more voluptuous women and portrays the sex from an exclusively male point of view, whereas the sex here is realistic (as well as real) and as female-oriented as much as male.

    The problem is that the film appears to be utterly meaningless. A British research geologist Matt (Kieran O'Brien) goes to London gigs and has sex with American student Lisa (Margot Stilley), but there is no characterisation or plot or even a script (the dialogue was improvised and is banal). Even the music seems to bear no relationship to the lovers and - except for some haunting work from Michael Nyman - is dreary gunge. Shot on low budget digital video, the picture is as grey as the subject matter and the only light-hearted aspect is the rather unsubtle joke of the (mercifully short) running time (69 minutes). Come again? No chance.
    tedg

    Rock and Roll

    When I saw Scorsese's "Last Waltz," I thought that I would never again see a concert film as true. And I haven't, until now.

    The Band were the last popular musicians to tell stories, have nearly all those stories be in the third person and tell them without irony. To do this is impossible today, or at least non- commercial. Scorsese is a flawed filmmaker, his flaw being that he is overly invested in character-driven storytelling. The two: Band and Marty, were a perfect mix: cinematic rock. Pure, without that nightmare stew of MTV videos.

    Now along comes Winterbottom. Nearly all viewers will be unable to accept a movie with sex in it as anything but a movie about sex. Shame on them. Confront it folks. That's his point: why is it so difficult to accept the difference?

    But the hangups of the viewing public are less interesting to me than the way he constructed this experiment. It is a rock concert (with a Nyman interlude). Nine songs, with us participating in the songs themselves, participating in the going to the concerts to listen to the songs, and participating in the experience that the songs are about: namely obsessive sex. And also, remembering (or even inventing the memory of) the sex, drugs and rock and roll we've seen. This latter is done by our hero in Antarctica. He serves as narrator, by the way.

    Thankfully, this intense sex avoids the theatrics of "Damage," and works to be as genuine as possible emotionally.

    Is it a good movie? Could it change your life? Will it change cinema forever?

    Probably yes.

    Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.
    7SONNYK_USA

    Possible the first pornographic 'date movie' that lacks the hardcore edge guys expect but does take mainstream ADULT movies to the next level - REAL sex!

    How does a modern man recall his last 'love' relationship? In this case, by the songs they shared together. The man in question is a glaciologist who's airborne research over Antarctica spurs a chronological series of memories broken up by nine LIVE concert segments. To sum up the simplistic plot line of the flashbacks, the two young lovers meet at a rock concert and then each major sex scene at their Islington flat is punctuated with brief concert segments (shot guerrilla-style with the couple in attendance).

    Director Michael Winterbottom ("24 Hour Party People") has actually done Hollywood (and Planned Parenthood) a service by taking out the 'fake' lovemaking scenes audiences have grown accustomed to and replaced them with REAL sex, actual condoms IN USE, and a female (or male) orgasm that hasn't been staged for dramatic effect.

    Seriously, the porn industry should take note if this film has any commercial success in the USA, because for my money I'd rather have my human sexuality nicely photographed, lit well, and true-to-life than filled with emotionally forced bad acting, flat lighting, and fake orgasms (with even faker breasts). Name one porn movie with fantastic helicopter shots of Antarctica's icy surface with a science lesson tossed in too. Nada.

    Best of all are the honest, first-rate acting performances from both Brit acting veteran Kieran O'Brian ("24 Hour Party People") as 'Matt', the very lucky older guy (age 31), and 'Lisa' (Margo Stilley), the young American waif, who gets picked up at a rock concert one night at London's Brixton Academy.

    In England, where this film has already been released there was quite a brouhaha as first-time movie actress Margo Stilley (age 21) supposedly tried to have her name removed from the credits. Luckily, the scathing reviews by the British press have worn off and the film is being released in the USA with Margo credited and NO NC-17 rating.

    Although a first-time principle actress, Margo's performance is noteworthy in that her improvised dialogue not only rings true but it speaks to the neuroses of many young 'wild' females way beyond the Paris Hilton experience. She even creates a little comic relief when confronting her 'boyness' in the bathroom mirror.

    In retrospect, I don't think this film has the artistic merit of last year's ode to eroticism (Bertolucci's "The Dreamers"), but director Michael Winterbottom does make a compelling argument for taking sex scenes to their natural conclusion. Adult audiences are gravitating more and more to NC-17 rated movies (re: "The Brown Bunny," etc.) and it may be time for local cinemas (and Hollywood) to grow up. Hey, if Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt really are lovers then why couldn't they have 'condom sex' on screen for a change, and how much more of an impact would that have on college-age adults practicing 'unsafe' sex than thousands of hours of PSA's and sex-ed classes! Even if sex on the big screen isn't your thing, this film is so pure in its intentions it's practically a 'date movie' (except blind dates). Even the ladies will enjoy the sensitive approach to the material as the sexual exploits build from cunnilingus to some mild S&M, eventually progressing to the de rigeur 'cum shot'. As I said, it's an ADULTS ONLY experience, but one that might rekindle the sexual romance in your own relationships and give you a forum to converse with your partner about a sensitive subject (in America anyway).

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Kieran O'Brien and Margo Stilley did not communicate with each other between filming so that their off-screen relationship would not affect the one they had on screen.
    • Goofs
      Cutaways during several different band performances, such as close up of backup guitarists, are from different parts of the shows and often don't match wide shots of the band or shots of the singers.
    • Quotes

      Matt: Exploring the Antarctic is like exploring space. You enter a void, thousands of miles, with no people, no animals, no plants. You're isolated in a vast, empty continent. Claustrophobia and agoraphobia in the same place, like two people in a bed.

    • Crazy credits
      The opening title and the closing credits appear to be pieces of cut film or paper placed together to form the words.
    • Alternate versions
      Unrated Edited Version on DVD in USA removes the explicit sex, but it still too graphic for an R rating.
    • Connections
      Featured in Nip/Tuck: Liz Cruz (2006)
    • Soundtracks
      Whatever Happened To My Rock and Roll
      (Live)

      Performed by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (Peter Hayes, Robert Levon Been,

      Nick Jago)

      Composed by Peter Hayes / Robert Levon Been (as Robert Been) / Nick Jago (as Nicholas Jago)

      © BRMC Music / WB Music Corp by kind permission of Warner/Chappell Music Ltd

      Courtesy of Virgin Records Limited / Virgin Records America, Inc

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    FAQ20

    • How long is 9 Songs?Powered by Alexa
    • What are the differences between the Unrated Edited Version and the Uncut Version?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 11, 2005 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • 9 orgasmos
    • Filming locations
      • Norway
    • Production company
      • Revolution Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • £1,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $66,853
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $13,457
      • Jul 24, 2005
    • Gross worldwide
      • $1,590,308
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 11 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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