Michael Douglas stars as Nick Curran, a detective assigned to a case involving the murder of erotic author Catherine Tramell's (Sharon Stone) sexual partner with an icepick. The crime is idential to a murder depicted in one of Tramell's books, and as Curran digs deeper into determining whether Tramell was the killer, he finds himself falling prey to her seductive influence.
Paul Verhoeven directs this erotic thriller that is well known for its explicit sex and nudity, as well as a memorable shot of Sharon Stone's pussy in an interrogation scene. But this movie is absolutely clever, transcending its lurid subject matter into what I consider to be one of the best neo-noir films of all time. Being the third in a so-called trilogy that includes Body Heat and Fatal Attraction, as well as the first role for the beautiful actress Jeanne Tripplehorn (whom I consider hotter than Stone herself), this film is also a very important one for cinema. Sharon Stone is the quintessential femme fatale, an experimental dame who's not afraid to go the extra mile in the bedroom. And the mystery that's at the core of Basic Instinct is one that will have you thinking very deeply, even in the midst of those steamy sexual encounters that constantly have an air of danger about them.
My main gripe about the film was the ending, perfectly described by Roger Ebert as "arbitrary", but nonetheless Basic Instinct stands as an amazing mystery with the alluring promise of sex and danger.