BASIC INSTINCT

PLOT SUMMARY

A woman, in the course of an awesome act of love making, ties her male partner's arms to the bedstead with a white silk scarf and proceeds to murder him with an icepick.

SF police detectives are called in. The case is controversial because the victim was a sports figure who donated to the mayor. The team includes detective Nick Curran, who's been in trouble with the department for drinking, drugs, and anger management issues. He was accused of shooting two people unnecessarily, but acquited. He is being seen by the department psychologist, Dr. Beth Garner, with whom he previously had an affair. They meet in her office. He tells her everything is OK — no booze, no cocaine, no smoking — except his sex life since he stopped seeing her. He holds up his right hand. "Calluses," he says. "Sorry." He leans close, asks her if she will release him from scutiny. After a pause, "Yes," she says. As he leaves, she says, "I still miss you, Nick." He does not respond.

The prime suspect turns out to be Catherine Tramell, a wealthy woman who has written a novel in which the main character kills her male lover with an icepick. The detectives debate this conundrum: Either someone has read the book and seeks to frame the author, or the author has given herself what she thinks of as the perfect alibi. After a preliminary interview, they take her downtown for more extensive questioning. There, she distracts them by exposing her lack of underpants. She passes a lie detector test, after which she asks for a ride home. Nick volunteers. On the way, she taunts him again by offering him a cigarette. She seems to know a lot about his troubled record with the department.

Nick gets some predictable razzing for taking her home. But the real heat comes from the internal affairs guy, Lt. Nilson, who taunts him by calling him "shooter" — especially after he goes to a bar with his colleagues and orders bourbon. They almost come to blows, but Beth intervenes, throwing some heat of her own at Nilson. Nick takes her home, with her permission. He forces himself on her, after which she questions him about Catherine Trammel and then throws him out.

Matters quickly get more complicated. Nick becomes attracted to Catherine, who skillfully leads him on. Soon they are sharing her bed. He learns her life includes multiple partners of both sexes, including a woman named Roxy who becomes jealous of Nick and vows to kill him unless he leaves Catherine alone. He is not dissuaded. But Catherine tells him things only SFPD should know about him. He discovers Beth shared his file with Nilson, and has an altercation with him in Nilson's office. Nick is placed on leave. Later Nilson is found dead in his car, shot at close range. Nick is relieved of duty; he turns over his gun. Catherine turns up at his apartment, telling him she's heard what happened. Nick's friend Gus turns up at the apartment with a pizza and meets Catherine leaving. He berates Nick for seeing her, says she's messing with his mind. Later Nick finds Gus drunk in a bar, distraught over his friend's predicament. Nick get him some food and coffee to help him sober up. He offers to drive Gus home, but Gus isn't having it. As Nick walks to his own car, Catherine's car appears out of nowhere and tries to run him down. After a chase, it veers off an embankment and crashes. Roxy is found dead at the wheel.

Still more complications appear. They involve previous crimes committed by Catherine's older friend Hazel Dobson and by Roxy, and by the fact that Beth knew Catherine at UC Berkeley. Nick confronts Catherine about this. She tells him of a student named Lisa Holberman who was obsessed with her. Although officially off duty, Nick pursues this lead and finally the pieces come together into a surprising whole.

Capsule review: Basic Instinct is a well-executed thriller which gives us a satisfying balance between action and character development and a plot that mostly holds together, but which overdoes the violence and the sex scenes.2