Tag: film

Content Warnings:

Abusive Relationships, Suicide, Murder

9 ½ Weeks (1986) is an interesting film, but the conclusion is not satisfying. It ends rather abruptly, like the authors ran out of steam and ended it early. It makes the whole film seem less significant. Critic Julie Salamon stated it was ‘lovely to look at, but spiritless, a listless coquette.’ reminding her of a perfume advert. The truth is, the best ending of the film was left on the cutting room floor. 

True Ending

Reading reviews online, so many people found the ending unconvincing. They couldn’t believe that Elizabeth would just walk away so easily, after all she’d already gone through. They felt that the depths of their relationship was never fully explored, with Elizabeth never being pushed as far as they’d expected. 

To borrow gaming terminology, this all changes with the true ending. In it, Elizabeth goes as far as she possibly could for John, and that’s it. That’s the last moment of those nine and a half weeks. It has to be over between them.

 The original ending, as told by the New York Times:

“John convinces Elizabeth, who is totally under his spell, to swallow pills with him, matching him pill for pill. The episode is another of John’s games; the pills that Elizabeth thinks are killing her are made of sugar. The realization that their game-playing had actually come to the brink of death, and that she was ready to die for him is what motivates her to finally leave him. The entire scene, however, was later cut from the movie. Mr. Lyne said that audiences at previews found the scene simply too strong to take. ”It made them hate him too much,” the director said. ”They hated John for doing it. They hated Elizabeth for accepting it. They hated me for making it. It made them hate the whole film.’ ”

The film peaks in its final act. After all she’s accepted, doing all she can to continue her relationship with John, it reaches a fever pitch. She accepts death by his side. 

Impact on the Film

Without this final sick game of John’s, the film is changed. If Elizabeth can leave without the inclusion of this scene, she could have, should have left at any time before this. Of the final film, critic Roger Ebert said:

“That’s what makes the movie fascinating: Not that it shows these two people entering a bizarre sexual relationship, but that it shows the woman deciding for herself what she will, and will not, agree to.” 

With the true ending, this is not a film of Elizabeth choosing when to consent and when to quit. It’s instead a film of Elizabeth spiralling down as low as she can possibly go, and finding power at the end of the storm. 

Feverish, passionate relationships like theirs often end with the same fireworks they started with. Acts of Service by Lillian Fishman and Choses Secretes (2002) have very similar themes. Rich, egotistical men who treat women like their playthings. Women who go along with it, because the men are rich and handsome and this is mistaken for charm. But relationships like this don’t just fizzle out, they have to end with a bang. With a choice between prison (Acts of Service), murder (Choses Secretes) and suicide, sugar pills are the best we could hope for.

Kim Basinger

Basinger deserves the release of the true ending more than anyone. She went through hell on that set, being psychologically (and sometimes physically) abused and manipulated by Director Adrian Lyne & Mickey Rourke. Her mental health & marriage suffered terribly. But she finished it, and deserves a great product in return. 

She’s managed to reclaim her power since then, believing this role made her a better actress. I’ve heard she owns the footage, too. In interviews, she wishes that people could see the movie as it was supposed to be seen, true ending and all. Adrian Lyne wasn’t happy either, but after spending a full year and 1 million dollars on additional editing alone, I don’t think he’ll be trying again. 

The Daily Mail claims that Amazon Prime has commissioned a TV remake, with Kim Basinger playing a smaller role. However, as I cannot find a single source for this claim, I’m not expecting this to ever materialise. Maybe one day!

Final Thoughts

The reason why I chose to write this article is… I can see the true ending in my head. I wanted people to see the finished story the way I can. 

The first time I watched this film around 2015, the true ending is the one I remember seeing. I know how bizarre that sounds, but I can picture it so clearly. I can picture the actors, the location, the camera angles… I even asked the internet to help me. I thought maybe the specific release was the problem, but this website compares different regional releases of the film, claiming only minor language changes. Another site shows every specific change down to the decisecond, and still no sign of my lost ending.

Is it really all in my head? Did I fill in the blanks after reading the NYT article, and I watched the same ending as everyone else? I’ll never feel completely sure. 

But when you attach the true ending, I gladly give this film 4.5 stars.