9 Songs is a 2004 British art romantic drama film written and directed by Michael Winterbottom. The film stars Kieran O'Brien and Margo Stilley. The title refers to the nine songs played by eight different rock bands that complement the story of the film. The film was controversial upon original release due to its sexual content, which included unsimulated footage of the two leads, Kieran O'Brien and Margo Stilley, having sexual intercourse and performing oral sex as well as a scene of ejaculation. The film was showcased at the Cannes Film Festival. Plot The film tells the modern love story set over a period of 12 months in London, England, of a young couple: Matt, a British climatologist, and Lisa, an American exchange student. The story is from Matt's perspective in retrospect when he is working in Antarctica. The film more or less alternates between numerous explicit scenes of sex, and rock concerts, which they mostly attend together. It also shows their weekend getaway into the countryside, their travels around London, and a trip to a strip club. The sex scenes show a variety of different sex acts including fellatio, cunnilingus, female masturbation, masturbation with feet, many scenes of vaginal penetration, and a scene of male ejaculation. There are also scenes where Lisa is blindfolded, and one where Lisa role plays a dominatrix, complete with leather high heels and a whip. At the end of the film, Lisa brings their short and intense relationship to an end at Christmas time when she returns to the United States. Cast Kieran O'Brien as Matt Margo Stilley as Lisa The nine songs "Whatever Happened to My Rock and Roll", Black Rebel Motorcycle Club "C'mon, C'mon", The Von Bondies "Fallen Angel", Elbow "Movin' on Up", Primal Scream "You Were the Last High", The Dandy Warhols "Slow Life", Super Furry Animals "Jacqueline", Franz Ferdinand "Debbie", Michael Nyman "Love Burns", Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Production On the first day of filming in the fall of 2003, Margo Stilley and Kieran O'Brien shot a scene where they are just kissing and taking their clothes off. "It wasn't until after lunch that we had sex," O'Brien recalls. As would happen throughout the shoot, Winterbottom left little to chance. "He really mapped out everything," O'Brien says. "The order he wanted me to take off my clothes, her clothes, whether my socks stayed on or not. He had specific ideas