9 Songs

Sex is often a significant part of human relationships, so why shouldn’t films reflect that and depict it more accurately? That’s the question director Michael Winterbottom tries to answer with 9 Songs, and he does so fairly successfully. The film is rated NC-17 and features fairly graphic sex (penetration, oral sex, bodily fluids), which was disappointing at first because I thought Winterbottom was using sex for the same purpose as most directors do (cheap titillation) but the choice made more sense as the movie progressed and, thanks in large part to the two lead actors, contributed greatly to the feeling of relationship in the film.