Basic Instinct: Sexy Sharon Stone Steals Michael Douglas' Movie

"Basic Instinct" (1992).

"Basic Instinct" (1992) is a sexy crime drama that proved to be the peak of Michael Douglas' career and the start of Sharon Stone's period of greatest success. Written by Joe Eszterhas and directed by Paul Verhoeven, who would later team up again for the ill-fated "Showgirls," "Basic Instinct" was a Hollywood phenomenon that retains its iconic force. It proved hugely profitable for Carolco Pictures and its distributor, Tristar Pictures, and its controversial depiction of a bisexual sociopath in a lead role only helped sell more tickets.


While the sexuality in "Basic Instinct" is not too graphic, the relationships are presented in just the right way to lure in average viewers and then titillate them without provoking any guilt. The director's cut released years later is even steamier, and the best choice for anyone interested in seeing "Basic Instinct" today.



The script is a bit too insistent on pointing all the clues in one particular direction, with a weak "twist" at the end that naturally trumps all those clues as far as the authorities are concerned. In addition, "Basic Instinct" loses steam after about the halfway point, becoming just another "let's see how the real killer wriggles out of being caught" crime film. So, then, what is the big deal about "Basic Instinct"? The performances in "Basic Instinct" are what make it a classic.



Sharon Stone pushes her character's arrogance in her own invulnerability and infallibility through the roof, treating the police investigating her as so many idiots to be used and abused as she wishes, with absolutely no fear of being caught. It is a brilliant portrayal of a Narcissistic personality who uses her own sexuality as a weapon against just about everyone. Michael Douglas is at his conflicted best, and the supporting cast does just what they need to do, no more and no less.

Nick Curran and partner have some questions in "Basic Instinct."

A rock star, Johnny Boz (Bill Cable), is murdered with an ice pick in his room by an unknown blonde woman, and homicide detective Nick Curran (Douglas) is assigned the case. He learns that the last person seen with Boz was Catherine Tramell (Stone), a crime novelist who lives in a Pacific Heights mansion. When he goes to visit Tramell with partner Gus Moran (George Dzundza), Curran finds only Tramell's lesbian lover, Roxy (Leilani Sarelle), who directs them to Tramell's beach house. There, Tramell does not appear too concerned about the death, and they discover that Tramell has written a novel which has numerous similarities to Boz's murder.

Sharon Stone puffs away like mad before and during the interrogation in "Basic Instinct."

Curran and Moran bring Tramell in for questioning, setting up the most famous film scene of the 1990s. Tramell is argumentative and intimidating, refusing to stop smoking and deliberately crossing her legs in such a fashion that it becomes obvious that she is wearing no underwear under her miniskirt and has no compunctions about showing herself. She answers the questions in as haughty a manner as possible and makes the police uncomfortable while remaining completely self-possessed. She also passes a polygraph exam.

Sharon Stone with a perfect arrogant smirk in "Basic Instinct."

Curran has his own problems - he accidentally shot two innocent people while high on drugs - and police psychologist Dr. Beth Garner (Jeanne Tripplehorn) counsels him while also having sex with him. A colleague, Lieutenant Marty Nilsen (Daniel von Bargen), doesn't like Curran and makes fun of him at a bar, and Curran then takes Garner home and takes it out on her with rough sex. Curran then does some further investigating of Tramell and learns that her parents died young, leaving her a fortune. Further, while Tramell was in college, one of her college advisors was stabbed in his sleep with an ice pick in the same manner as Boz. Her former fiancé, a boxer, died in the ring during a prize fight. Tramell is friends with Hazel Dobkins (Dorothy Malone), a murderer, and she also knows other murderers. Everywhere he looks, Curran finds odd things about Tramell related to murder.

Head held perfectly level, gaze direct, clothes perfect, hand perfect, smoke perfect in "Basic Instinct." A beautifully composed shot.

When Curran goes to visit Tramell again, she reveals knowledge of confidential information that could only have come from his police dossier on her. Garner confesses that she gave the file to Nilsen, who Curran then surmises gave the file to Tramell just to make his life difficult. Confronting Nilsen, Curran slugs him, leading to his suspension from the police force. Curran drinks to forget his problems and has an emotional argument with Garner, suggesting that he is out of control. Nilsen is later found dead in his car, shot in the head with a bullet that may have come from a police revolver. Curren becomes the prime suspect.

Sharon Stone's expansive hand gesture says "I own this space" in "Basic Instinct."

Tramell tells Curran that she is writing a novel that will have its police officer hero based on Nick. The plot has the female suspect killing the character based on Curran. Curran responds by telling Tramell that he loves her but still is going to prove that she murdered Boz. Roxy then tries to run Curran over with Tramell's car out of jealousy, but loses control of her car and crashes, dying in the wreck. Roxy, it turns out from a sealed juvenile court file available only upon her death, killed her two brothers when she was a teenager. Curran begins having doubts about Tramell's guilt, but Tramell then tells him that she had an a lesbian affair with a girl in college that ended badly when the girl became obsessed with her. Curran finds out that the girl was Garner, who confesses to the affair but claims that it was Tramell who became obsessed. Garner's husband was later murdered by the same caliber bullett that killed Officer Nilsen.

Meanwhile, the detectives can't help but be entranced by those legs in "Basic Instinct."

Curran again visits Tramell's house and finds a copy of her latest novel on the printer. It ends with character purportedly modelled after him finding his partner dead, lying in an elevator. Tramell appears, saying simply that the book is done, and abruptly breaks up with Curran. Curran then visits his own partner, Moran, who is investigating the college lesbian incident. Curran waits in the car while Moran goes in to talk to Tramell's old college roommate. A hooded figure then appears and stabs Moran multiple times, killing him in the elevator in the manner detailed in Tramell's new novel.

Nobody in the business can sweat profusely like Wayne Knight in "Basic Instinct."

Curran finds the dead Moran, grabs his gun, and suddenly sees Garner in the hallway. She claims that a message told her to meet Moran there. Curran suspects that Garner murdered Moran, and when she makes a suspicious movement, he shoots her. When the police arrive, they find an ice pick, wig and other items in the stairwell, their conclusion being that Garner killed Moran, left her disguise in the stairwell, and then came out to meet Curran as if nothing had happened. Further evidence in Garner's apartment implicates her in the murders of Boz, Nilsen, Gus and perhaps even her own husband.



The other detectives feel that all of the cases have been solved because Garner was a serial killer, but Curran is not so sure. He thinks, based on what he read in Tramell's unpublished novel, that Tramell set up Garner. Back at his apartment, Curran finds Tramell waiting for him, and they make love, while the camera reveals an ice pick hidden underneath his bed that Tramell apparently reaches for at one point.

Sharon Stone's eyes say, "I know you're watching, and I don't care."

The beauty of "Basic Instinct," besides all of the gratuitous sex (and there is plenty of that), is that the convoluted plot, with the circumstantial evidence continually mounting against Tramell, keeps the viewer guessing how on earth Tramell will get out of being caught. "Basic Instinct" explores the limits of evidence and the assumptions that we all naturally draw from basic facts, then shows how those assumptions can be manipulated to mean precisely the opposite of what we presume. The underlying theme is the limitations of "proof" and the ability to get away with just about anything if the groundwork of false leads is lain precisely enough in advance. In "Basic Instinct," the intellect and cunning of Tramell manages to create a false picture of reality to serve Tramell's own purposes, with all seemingly obvious assumptions drawn from what appears to be conclusive evidence at the very least questionable and, quite probably, completely false. As such, "Basic Instinct" is a forerunner of all the police procedurals of the late 1990s and early 2000s which try to explain with certainty what evidence actually implies, when, in fact, there are no absolutes about evidence at all. Evidence is just that - evidence - and nothing more, with questions always hanging over just what seemingly obvious evidence actually proves about guilt or innocence.

Jeanne Tripplehorn as Garner: her natural guilelessness is perfect for the part of Dr. Garner

There are lots of crime thrillers and police procedurals, but "Basic Instinct" stands head and shoulders above the pack. For one thing, the busy script gives Stone and Douglas plenty of time to chew the scenery. Also, the acting by everyone is stellar, with Stone at her smoldering best and Douglas eschewing his usual wise-guy persona from films like "Romancing the Stone" and "Wall Street" to nail a troubled, uncertain character, someone who acts as confused about what is actually going on with Tramell as the audience feels. The entire production is of high quality, from the score by Jerry Goldsmith to Verhoeven's subtle nods to the true master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, to the attractive leading ladies. The costume designer, Ellen Mirojnick, deserves special mention for the stylish outfits Stone wears throughout, especially the severe white number for the big interrogation scene.

Tramell playing both Roxy and Curran at the same time. Roxy just looks needy and possessive, Stone in complete control in "Basic Instinct."

The background facts about "Basic Instinct" are startling. Stone was far down on the list of contenders for the role of Tramell, being known mostly for television appearances and minor features like "Allen Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold" (in which she is radiant), "Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol" and the supporting role of Arnold's wife in "Total Recall" ("Consider this a divorce"). Only after half the leading ladies of the time in Hollywood - from Michelle Pfeiffer to Geena Davis to Kathleen Turn to Ellen Barkin - turned the role down because of the nudity or other factors (Lena Olin didn't like Eszterhas) was Stone offered the part. The interrogation scene was a key stumbling block for many, but it was essential for selling the film. It wasn't just straight guys who were fascinated by Stone uncrossing her legs. Straight girls could also be fanatical about getting the VHS and replaying that scene over and over, trying to pin down precisely what could be seen.

Stone's hand placement shouts, "I own this, this is what I value." It is brilliant acting by Stone in "Basic Instinct."

That is not to say that no actress would take the part, just that many high profile names at that time were very worried about their images. Ultimately, though, turning down the part hurt them. Catherine Tramell was a career part that would have helped anybody's career, and many of those A-listers fell down the rankings as quickly as Sharon Stone ascended them. Michael Douglas, in turn, made the right decision in refusing a request that he go full-frontal naked or have his character be bisexual, neither of which could possibly have helped the film with the audience.

Roxy leaving in a huff in "Basic Instinct." Tramell having played her perfectly in "Basic Instinct."

Sharon Stone's attitude toward this role also reveals a lot about Hollywood in those days. Sharon Stone later tried to claim that Verhoeven tricked her into the famous crotch-baring scene, saying that he did not disclose what would be shown. Supposedly, she only realized what had happened when she saw it in the dailies, and then demanded its removal, but with the scene shot it was too late for her to do anything about it. Verhoeven, on the other hand, claims in response that Stone was in on the crotch shot all along, until Stone's agent warned it would hurt her career, which made her change her mind. Everybody thus tried to appear innocent and blameless, while allowing the scene to go out to audiences.



One fact is clear: the leg-crossing scene was not spelled out in the script, but was all Verhoeven's idea to show how fearless and free-spirited Tramell could be. It all sounds just like the later "sex tape" incidents, with the woman involved invariably claiming it was all done without her consent, but then also invariably cashing in as much as possible later. Nowadays, starlets don't even have to be paid (directly) for flashing the public as they exit their limos, it's all good in the name of publicity, just spell the name right. But "Basic Instinct" was before all the sex tapes and the flashing, and, in fact, may have inspired all of that because of what it did for Stone's career.

Paul Verhoeven, master of the modern twisted-relationship picture such as "Basic Instinct."

"Basic Instinct" is a classic crime thriller. It remains a triumph for Paul Verhoeven, Joe Eszterhas, Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone and Jeanne Tripplehorn. The pacing is tight, the writing is superb, the acting is subtle and nuanced, and the sexy visuals are smoking hot if you like that sort of thing (and not just of Stone's interrogation scene, but her lesbian posturing and everything else as well). The sex scenes are as graphic as Verhoeven could get away with, making them still titillating even compared to the more openly sexual films that followed down the years.



Whatever she turned into later (skip the sequel "Basic Instinct 2," the moment was long gone by then and Stone no longer young and desirable), Sharon Stone was magnificent in "Basic Instinct," playing up the arrogance of Tramell while giving the audience what it didn't even know it wanted. There was a sequel, "Basic Instinct 2" (2006), that also starred Sharon Stone, but skip it unless you absolutely have to see an inferior rip-off. "Basic Instinct" is highly recommended, be sure to get the director's cut for the full effect.



2017

Michael Douglas In "Falling Down": At The Top Of His Game

Falling Down (1993).

There are films that are more like touchstones, a mirror into which you look and get back an answer about yourself that you weren't looking for. In the '70s, it was the film "Death Wish" with Charles Bronson, which had people standing and cheering during the film because it touched a nerve. Other films like "Network" ("I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this any longer!") have the same effect. Placing the Michael Douglas movie "Falling Down" (1993) from Alcor Films in that sort of elite company is unfair, because "Falling Down" never achieved iconic status except among its cult-hit fans. However, "Falling Down" has the same goal as those films, which is to sort out the underlying anger that many feel at a society they think is spiralling away from them without any seeming control or purpose, seemingly changing at random without any regard for how change affects people or who it hurts. "Falling Down" is a meditation on society's sheer indifference and alienation.

Foster and the two gang members in "Falling Down."

Michael Douglas is William Foster (never actually named in the film), who is usually identified in this sort of review by his "D-Fens" license plate. Foster is coming home on the Freeway one day, stuck in traffic on a hot afternoon with a broken air conditioner, when his inner frustrations and impatience get the best of him. He abandons the car in the middle of traffic and begins a trek across Los Angeles to get to his daughter Adele's birthday party. "I'm going home," he yells to someone else stuck in the jam who wonders why he is abandoning his car (the fellow who yells happens to be "Falling Down's" screenwriter Ebbe Roe Smith, incidentally). Home is near the coast, and it's a long walk. There's a fine point to what Foster actually is doing when he is driving home, but I'll leave that to you to find out when you watch the film.

Foster showing that gang members are only tough when people don't fight back in "Falling Down.".

It turns out, though, that Foster really has hit his breaking point. At a convenience store, he tries get change to make a call, but the Korean proprietor refuses. Foster begins ranting about the high prices in the store ("You're charging 85 cents for a soda and I'm the criminal?" is the gist of it) and then grabs a baseball bat out of the frightened owner's hand and smashes the place up. When he leaves, two gang members mug him, but he disperses them with the baseball bat and takes one of their knives. This obviously is all fantasy stuff of the put-upon cubicle worker.

"Why doesn't this look like the one in the picture?"

The gang members return with two others in a car, spotting Foster in a phone booth. They fire at him but hit bystanders, then crash. Foster walks over, grabs one of their guns, and shoots one of the thugs in the leg. Making a sardonic comment, he grabs a bag of weapons out of their vehicle and wanders off. As he leaves, he gives a panhandler his briefcase, which is revealed to contain the sandwich and apple that his mother gave him for lunch.

Holding things up in his hands is kind of a trait of Foster in "Falling Down."

Foster gets hungry (should have kept the briefcase, buddy!) and heads for a fast food joint, "Whammy Burger." It's obvious what ubiquitous fast food chain this joint is standing in for, in line with the many other obvious references in "Falling Down." Foster orders breakfast and is told that they just switched to the lunch menu, so no more breakfast. Arguing about it with the extremely solicitous manager who just makes things worse because he obviously is being insincere, Foster pulls out a gun and it discharges into the ceiling. Foster then accepts a burger, but questions why it doesn't look like the ones in the advertisements. After leaving, he tries to call his ex-wife Beth from a pay-phone but then shoots it up when someone hassles him about the length of his call. Again, this is all fantasy stuff, of the "When someone hassles me I'm just gonna shoot the whole place up!" variety.

Foster taking out his anger on some deserving punks in "Falling Down."

Meanwhile, the local police have been receiving reports of a string of weird crimes all across town that seem completely random. Sergeant Prendergast, watching the clock until he officially retires at the end of the day, pieces together that they are probably all being committed by one individual and sets out to investigate. Interviews with witnesses confirm his suspicions, and he is able to identify Foster from his D-FENS license plate. He and his partner (and love interest) Detective Torres visit Foster's mother, with whom Foster lives. The officers tell her that they found out that Foster lost his job months before, but never told anyone. The officers do learn from her that he is probably heading toward his ex-wife Beth's house near the beach in Venice.

One of the amusing scenes is when everybody starts to agree with Foster about the burgers in "Falling Down" - giving affirmation not to Foster per se, but to the people watching in the theater who know exactly what Foster is upset about from their own petty frustrations.

Foster continues his journey. He sees a black man dressed like him on the street near a bank, protesting not getting a loan, and they exchange knowing glances before the man says to "remember" him. The next stop is an army surplus store to buy some shoes, but Detective Torres comes in to ask the owner if has seen Foster. The owner prevents Torres from realizing that Foster is there, then, after she leaves, confides in Foster that he's proud of what he's doing and gives him a rocket launcher. The store owner, though, is a racist, and Foster kills him before changing into army fatigues.

The gang member girl isn't too happy to be in a gunfight in "Falling Down."

Walking down a street under repair, Foster notices the crew not doing anything except fattening their paychecks. They are rude about it, so Foster pulls out the rocket launcher and blows the site up with the help of a young boy who explains how to use it. Foster continues on and runs across a family enjoying a nice day outside. He then has another incident at an exclusive country club, where Foster causes a golfer who is extremely rude to him and almost hits his head with a golf ball to have a heart attack.

Prendergast is a cliché but performed wonderfully by Robert Duvall in "Falling Down."

Finally arriving at Beth's house, Foster finds it empty and figures that she and Adele went to the nearby Venice Pier. Prendergast and Torres arrive, but Foster shoots Torres and continues on his way. At the pier, Foster finds Beth and his daughter. Prendergast runs up and he and Foster have a brief philosophical exchange before Foster's journey ends.

It's always nice to have a helpful kid around when you want to blow something up in "Falling Down."

"Falling Down" is composed of a series of disconnected vignettes, and the whole is less than the sum of the parts. That does not make "Falling Down" a bad film, it simply means that there is no overarching point that is being made. There really is no more to it than that a man snaps after having to take too much, and he goes to extreme lengths to do what he feels is necessary to get what he wants. That it all makes perfect sense to him doesn't mean it is right - it just means that there are different ways of looking at ordinary things that normal people must suppress. "Falling Down" is a meditation on the tight control and suppression of feelings that society requires of people to get along with others in the modern world.

"Everybody calm down, I'm not really a crazed killer. Never mind the semi-automatic I'm waving around."

So, with no "message" being conveyed (which is not a bad thing, message movies can be horrible), what is the point of "Falling Down"? The point is that there isn't a point, namely, it shows how dangerous any seemingly inoffensive individual can become under the proper circumstances when confronted by an endlessly indifferent society. It is a "release" film - just as Bronson in "Death Wish" acts as a way for the audience to release its frustrations at crime, "Falling Down" serves as an outlet for more petty frustrations - but also aiming at a much larger target, the increasing alienation of the modern world. Nobody really gives a damn about Foster's frustrations which are petty but still important to him, and by God he's going to do something about it for once. Foster reaches his limit after losing his job, losing his wife, and having to cope with big-city frustrations, but everybody has their breaking point.

Michael Douglas and Barbara Hershey at the premiere at Mann's Theater in Westwood, California of "Falling Down.".

That this remains a topical film should be obvious to anyone who notices the never-ending string of school shootings and similar mass-murder sprees that have been breaking out with increasing frequency in the years since "Falling Down." Back in those days, nobody thought twice about letting their children play outside, and it was considered an outrage that there should be metal detectors in schools. Today, the first thing you think about when the subject of schools come up is the latest shooting at one.

Barbara Hershey is only in "Falling Down" for a few minutes. Her part probably was reduced in the cutting room, because her character is given very short shrift.

"Falling Down" has an outstanding cast, which helps give the film a sense of gravitas it may not completely deserve. Besides Douglas, who was riding high in 1993, Robert Duvall appears as Prendergast, Barbara Hershey has large billing but a tiny role as Foster's ex-wife Beth, Rachel Ticotin is Torres, Tuesday Weld plays Prendergast's neurotic wife, and Frederic Forrest is the crazed army surplus store owner. "Falling Down" has one of the best casts that could have been assembled at that time for a "small" film, and director Joel Schumacher was no slouch either.

Foster really does miss his ex-wife Beth in "Falling Down."

There is a mystery within the production of "Falling Down," and that is the identity of the screenwriter, one Ebbe Roe Smith. Smith, incidentally, is the guy who yells at Foster as he leaves his car on the Freeway. The enigmatic Ebbe Roe Smith, a bit actor whose resume was full of roles like "Man at Table," apparently wrote only one more screenplay (the absolutely horrendous "Car 54, Where are You"), then disappeared from view. Recently, he has resumed playing bit roles, perhaps because the money from the screenplays finally ran out. One imagines him, typewritten screenplay in hand, hounding every big shot he runs across to fund his next project, and gradually losing patience, like Foster, when they ignore him....

Foster looks increasingly relaxed as "Falling Down" progresses.

"Falling Down" is a film that has similarities to a film done by Michael Douglas' father, Kirk Douglas. In "Lonely Are the Brave," Kirk plays Jack Burns, a loner who runs afoul of the law when he tries to help out a friend. For the remainder of that film, the police track Burns down as he simply tries to leave the area and be at peace. Kirk is on record as saying that "Falling Down" was son Michael Douglas' best piece of work, and Kirk apparently considers "Lonely Are the Brave" his own personal favorite. Comparing the two films, you can see why Kirk Douglas likes the two seemingly very different films. Both offer fine pieces of acting conveying similarly ambiguous themes about an individual's revolt against societal norms, highlighting the alienation of society and its crushing vengeance upon anyone who challenges it.

Foster is all business with his weapons in "Falling Down."

Incidentally, this low-key crime drama is a gun buff's dream film. If you are observant, you will note the following weapons at one point or another, several of them fired in anger: Beretta 92FS; Taurus PT92; Colt MkIV Series 70; Smith & Wesson Model 19 Snub Nose; Smith & Wesson Model 15 .38 Special; Smith & Wesson Model 30; Intratec TEC-9 submachine gun converted (illegally) to auto; MAC 10 open bolt submachine gun; IMI Uzi; Sawed-off Remington 870; M72 LAW (missile launcher); Browning M1919A4; and an M60. Not to mention the purported Zyklon-B canister. That's a lot of weapons, more than in some war movies.

Foster gets his wish and finds his family in "Falling Down."

"Falling Down" is not a great film, but it is thought-provoking and full of memorable scenes that will stick with you. Very few people will profess to completely understand what "Falling Down" really is trying to say - if anything. It may be worth a look to see a role where Michael Douglas doesn't play a hero or a villain, but just some guy with nothing left to lose. "I'm the bad guy? How did that happen?" - that sort of sums up Foster's character. I don't want to overstate things and imply that "Falling Down" is some huge classic, but for what it is, it is a very enjoyable film. You may find that it becomes a sort of guilty pleasure.

Below is the trailer - which includes most of the good scenes from "Falling Down":


2017