Act Out: Basic Instinct

BY: PROVOKR Staff

The 1992 erotic thriller Basic Instinct (written by Joe Eszterhas) revolves around the police investigation of the murder—by ice-pick—of retired rock star Johnny Boz. During the course of the investigation, Detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) becomes intimately involved with the prime suspect, crime novelist Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone) who wrote a novel that eerily mirrored this murder. Tramell has a history littered with untimely deaths—including her parents and a boxer to whom she was engaged. In the following scene, Tramell is brought into police headquarters for interrogation. It is during this infamous scene that Stone—while sitting in a chair—uncrossed her legs allowing the camera to capture a shot of her exposed genitalia. 

INT. A POLICE INTERROGATION ROOM – DAY

It is large, fluorescent-lighted, antiseptic. She walks in with Nick and Gus. In the room are prosecutor John Corrigan, Lt. Walker, Captain Talcott, Harrigan, and Andrews. There is a police stenographer a plain young woman in her 20s. As soon as she comes in —

CORRIGAN
I’m John Corrigan. I’m an assistant district attorney, Ms. Tramell. Can we get you anything? Would you like some coffee?

CATHERINE
No, thank you.

TALCOTT
Are your attorneys —

NICK
(hiding a smile)
Ms. Tramell waived her right to an attorney.

Corrigan and Talcott glance at Nick.  She sees the look.

CATHERINE
(smiles)
Did I miss something?

NICK
I told them you wouldn’t want an attorney present.

LT. WALKER
Why have you waived your right to an attorney, Ms. Tramell?

CATHERINE
(to Nick)
Why did you think I wouldn’t want one?

NICK
I told them you wouldn’t want to hide.

CATHERINE
I have nothing to hide.

The two of them keep their eyes on each other. She sits down. They sit around her. Nick sits directly across from her. She lights up a cigarette.  They watch her. She is poised, cool, in complete command of herself.

CORRIGAN
There is no smoking in this building, Ms. Tramell.

CATHERINE
What are you going to do? Charge me with smoking?

Ever so casually, she blows her smoke across at Nick.

CORRIGAN
Would you tell us the nature of your relationship with Mr. Boz?

CATHERINE
I had sex with him for about a year and a half. I liked having sex with him.

She has control of the room; she looks from one man to the other as she speaks.

CATHERINE
He wasn’t afraid of experimenting. I like men like that. I like men who give me pleasure. He gave me a lot of pleasure.

A beat, as they watch her. She is so matter-of-fact.

CORRIGAN
Did you ever engage in sadomasochistic activity with him?

CATHERINE
(smiles)
Exactly what do you have in mind, Mr. Corrigan.

CORRIGAN
(after a beat, little flustered)
Did you ever tie him up?

CATHERINE
No.

ANDREWS
You never tied him up.

CATHERINE
No. Johnny liked to use his hands too much. I like hands and fingers.

They stare at her.

LT. WALKER
You describe a white silk scarf in your book.

CATHERINE
I’ve always had a fondness for white silk scarves.
(she smiles)
I have a very vivid imagination.

NICK
But you said you liked men to use their hands.

CATHERINE
No.  I said I liked Johnny to use his hands.
(she smiles)
I don’t give any rules, Nick. I go with the flow.

They have their eyes on each other.

CORRIGAN
Did you kill Mr. Boz, Ms. Tramell?

CATHERINE
I’d have to be pretty stupid to write a book about a killing and then kill him the way I described in my book. I’d be announcing myself as the killer. I’m not stupid.

She smiles.

TALCOTT
We know you’re not stupid, Ms. Tramell.

LT. WALKER
Maybe that’s what you’re counting on to get you off the hook.

NICK
Writing a book about it gives you an alibi for not killing him.

CATHERINE
Yes it does, doesn’t it?

She holds his eyes a second, then —

CATHERINE
The answer is no.  I didn’t kill him.

GUS
Do you use drugs, Ms. Tramell?

CATHERINE
Sometimes.

HARRIGAN
Did you ever do drugs with Mr. Boz?

CATHERINE
Sure.

GUS
What kind of drugs?

CATHERINE
Cocaine.

She looks directly at Nick.

CATHERINE
Have you ever fucked on cocaine?
(she smiles)
It’s nice.

He watches her.

NICK
You like playing games, don’t you?

CATHERINE
(smiles)
I’ve got a degree in psychology. It goes with the turf. Games are fun.

They are holding each other’s eyes.

NICK
How about boxing? That’s a game. Was that fun for you?

They don’t take their eyes off each other for a second.

TALCOTT
I think that’s irrelevant to this inquiry.

CATHERINE
(to Nick)
Yes it was. Bobby died.

NICK
How did you feel when he died?

CATHERINE
I loved him. It hurt.

Their eyes are still on each other.

NICK
How did you feel when I told you Johnny Boz had died.

CATHERINE
I felt somebody had read my book and was playing a game.

NICK
But you didn’t hurt —

CATHERINE
No.

NICK
Because you didn’t love him —

CATHERINE
That’s right.

Their eyes are digging into each other.

NICK
Even though you were fucking him.

CATHERINE
(after a beat)
You still get the pleasure. Didn’t you ever fuck anybody else while you were married, Nick?

A beat; he stares at her, expressionless.

LT. WALKER
How did you know he was married?

CATHERINE
(watching Nick)
Maybe I was guessing. What difference does it make?

She lights a cigarette.  He stares at her.

CATHERINE
Would you like a cigarette, Nick?

He just stares at her, expressionless.

CORRIGAN
Do you two know each other?

NICK
No.

CATHERINE
No.

ANDREWS
How did you meet Mr. Boz?

CATHERINE
I wanted to write a book about the murder of a retired rock star. I went down to his club and picked him up. Then I had sex with him.

LT. WALKER
You didn’t feel anything for him. You just had sex with him for your book.

She looks at Nick.

CATHERINE
In the beginning. Then I got to like what he did for me.

GUS
That’s pretty cold, ain’t it, lady?

CATHERINE
I’m a writer,  I use people for what I write. Let the world beware.

She and Nick have their eyes on each other, then —

CATHERINE
(to Corrigan, smiles)
Want me to take a lie detector test?

INT. THE POLICE BUILDING – NIGHT

We see her in a glass-enclosed cubicle with a polygraph EXAMINER. Nick stands outside watching her with Gus and Lt. Walker. Her back is to them. The Examiner shuts the machine down, gathers rolls of papers, and comes out of the cubicle.

THE EXAMINER
No blips, no blood pressure variations, no pulse variance. Either she’s telling the truth or I’ve never met anyone like her.

A long beat, then —

LT. WALKER
Well, I guess that’s it.

A long beat, Nick watches her as she sits inside.

NICK
How does somebody beat this machine?

THE EXAMINER
Ninety-nine point nine percent of the cases, they don’t. You’d have  to be able to mask the truth from your own central nervous system, your circulatory system, your adrenal glands. In my opinion, this woman is telling the truth.

The Examiner walks away. They stand there. Catherine stands at the door of the cubicle behind them —

CATHERINE
Can I go now?

LT. WALKER
(after a beat)
Yes. Thanks for coming in, Ms. Tramell. I’m sorry to inconvenience you.

She says nothing, has a thin smile.

CATHERINE
Can I ask one of you for a ride?

They look at her a beat.

NICK
Sure.

CATHERINE
(smiles)
Thanks.

And he and Catherine walk away. Gus and Walker watch them.