Basic Instinct (1992)

 “What are you gonna do? Charge me with smoking? ” – Catherine

Number of Times Seen – Between 5-10 times (Theater 3 times, cable, video, DVD and 2 Aug 2016)

Brief Synopsis – A police detective tries to catch a murderer who is copying crimes from a bestselling novel.  Is it the author herself or is someone trying to frame her?

My Take on it – This is a movie that I actually had the rare pleasure of seeing 3 times in the theater when it came out.

The first time, I saw it with a platonic female friend and for some reason we got there late and missed the first fifteen minutes of the film.

The second time, I saw it with a male friend of mine and we caught the whole thing.

A few months later, this movie got the distinction of being my first movie in the theater in Israel after I came to live here.  I distinctly recall that two kids were causing trouble during the coming attractions and someone had the usher actually throw them out.

This film is a great psychological thriller that really keeps you guessing all the way until the end and makes you even question the ending for a long time afterwards.  (I’m still not 100% sure what really happened and Ive seen this film lots of times.

I like how they keep things a bit ambiguous because it really makes us keep rethinking it all.

Michael Douglas is great here and I think that this may be one of his best performances because of the way his character carries himself throughout the whole film.

This is the movie that made Sharon Stone a household name, but for some reason her stardom didn’t reach the heights everyone assumed it would after making a film like this.

Loved how there are so many familiar faces in supporting roles in this film. (always nice seeing Newman!!! in serious roles) 🙂

This film is definitely worth watching and it really has nothing to do with the graphic scenes depicted in it.  I think that even if the censors would cut those scenes down, the psychological aspects of the film would still ring true and that is what keeps us glued to it, not the graphic nature.

Yes, like most films, there are plot holes, but it’s easy to overlook them because of the fact that the story is planned out really well.

Bottom Line – Great psychological thriller that keeps you guessing all the way until the end. Douglas is superb here and this is one of his best (and gutsiest) roles. Stone made a name for herself with this film, but didn’t soar as high as everyone expected. Lots of familiar faces in the supporting cast.  Worth watching even if it wasn’t as graphic as it is because the story is planned out quite well. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Sharon Stone was only offered the role of Catherine after 13 actresses had turned it down. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy

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