USA 1992 Directed by: Paul Verhoeven. Starring: Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn.

A former rock star has been sex-murdered in his apartment in San Francisco. During the sex-act was he received 31 stabs in his throat and chest from an ice-pick. The detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) takes up the case. After he´d inquire a bit is he pretty sure of that the murdereds girl-friend, Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone), is the guilty one. A straightforward, superclever and incredibly beautiful woman. She and the murdered one left during the murder night a party together. Catherine has in addition to that recently published a novel, which is about a former rock star who´s been murdered by his girl-friend. But Catherine uses the book as her only alibi when she says, "I had to be pretty stupid to kill someone in the way I described it in my book. It would be to announcing myself as the killer".

She is called in for a cross-examine there she distracts them all by arrive in a short dress which reaches up to her thighs, and not a stitch under it. Catherine suggest spontaneously that she should be tested in a lie detector, and goes through all the questions without any problems at all. She´s however admit to Nick that even if she was guilty, would she make it out as easy as anything. Nick still believe that Catherine is the murderess, but has at the same time been fallen in love with her. He get closer and closer an affair with her, though he knows that she´s writing a new book, which is about a cop who falls for the wrong woman.

Rarely or never has a camera been more forward in an erotic thriller, than it is in "Basic Instinct". Whe have seen Michael Douglas ass a couple of times, but Sharon Stone shows just everything. She really want that role and it stands out a mile, because she gives everything in every scene. The character Catherine Tramell radiates such a sex appeal and such self-confidence, that she completely run over all who gets near her. Sharon Stone got also her big well-deserved breakthrough here, and was introduced as the next Marilyn Monroe. Michael Douglas and company does all a good piece of work but are all overshadowed by Sharon Stone.

Paul Verhoevens tight direction, the camera angles, the fine shot and Jerry Goldsmith´s excellent music, do that one think of Alfred Hitchcock. It is a very good grade. Just everything in "Basic Instinct" revolve round sex (spiced with some knife murders), and it´s almost too much in the end. Besides are the speeches sometimes on the verge of parody, and it lower the overall impression a little. The first half-hour of "Basic Instinct" is brilliant, there Paul Verhoeven surpass himself. The rest of the film isn´t quite just as good, but is far far from weak.

Kent Palmgren

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