Before meeting Margo Stilley in person, my perception was entirely shaped by her role in 9 Songs, a film accurately described as one of British cinema’s most sexually explicit mainstream productions. Approaching the interview in a London hotel, my only frame of reference for this debut actress was the intensely intimate scenes from the movie – close-ups of oral sex, masturbation, and various acts of intercourse. Throughout the film, a blindfold was often her most substantial piece of attire. Consequently, seeing her fully clothed presented a stark contrast.
In person, Stilley embodies a captivating duality, appearing simultaneously younger yet more mature, fresher yet less yielding than her on-screen persona. She possesses a striking beauty, surpassing the somewhat awkward and angular impression conveyed in the film. Her statuesque figure, a clear indicator of her Southern Carolina roots, explains her past career as a model. “I’m the worst model in the world,” she admits, “But I enjoyed it, it was great. You travel all over the world and get paid a stupid amount of money for doing absolutely nothing.”
At 17, she ventured to Europe alone, initially to visit friends, before deciding to try her luck in Milan as a model. Was she familiar with the city or Italian culture at the time?
“I’d never even seen The Godfather,” she confesses, leaving me unsure if she’s joking. “I knew nothing about Italy. I didn’t know a word of Italian. Not even ‘ciao’.” Nine months later, she relocated to England and, some years later, enrolled in a fashion marketing university program. Her extensive travels have refined her Southern charm into a sophisticated cosmopolitan confidence. Despite this outward poise, she confesses to feeling “really scared.”
Her apprehension stems from the anticipated scrutiny of the British press. She had already experienced a taste of their journalistic approach. The previous year, 9 Songs, directed by Michael Winterbottom, generated significant headlines following a preview at Cannes. Stilley declined to attend the festival and requested her name be omitted from publicity materials, yet tabloids swiftly uncovered her identity. They even tracked down her mother in South Carolina. The resulting story portrayed her mother as a fundamentalist Christian who believed her daughter had only simulated the sex scenes. “I pray for Margo every day,” her mother was quoted, “twice a day.”
Simultaneously, another reporter interviewed a booker from her former Milanese modeling agency, who described her as a “party girl” with a penchant for “rich men” and excessive drinking. While these traits might be perceived as almost standard in the modeling industry, they were apparently deemed excessive in Milanese circles. Adding to the narrative, an “ex-boyfriend” informed the same journalist that she was “happy to do it all the time.”
It’s understandable why she feels uneasy. One might argue that she should have anticipated this reaction. This is Britain, a nation known for its complex relationship with sex and sensationalism. “Hold on to your hot dogs,” declared The Sun newspaper, “there’s a new film that’s putting the sin into cinema.” Stilley acknowledges her unpreparedness for the immediate media frenzy but admits to having contemplated the long-term implications of on-screen sex and deliberated over accepting the role. What ultimately led her to say yes to Michael Winterbottom and 9 Songs?
“I wanted to make a film about something I really believe in, which is to show sex in a very positive light, as a very important piece of everyday life and a very important piece of a relationship, whether it’s successful or unsuccessful. What I find in films I see is that sex is always a turning point in action, someone’s cheating on someone, or someone dies. It’s always the kids having sex in horror films that die. And I didn’t like that. And in the sexually explicit films I’ve seen like Ai No Corrida [the Japanese classic in which the heroine cuts off her partner’s penis], they’re crazy, people don’t do that, it’s not normal!”
This is a remarkably articulate statement, especially considering Stilley’s lack of prior acting or filmmaking experience. She was initially sent to the casting call by an agency where she was registered as an extra, unaware of the film’s nature. However, her perspective on the misrepresentation of sex is rooted in her teenage experiences in America.
“I suppose coming from a background that tells you, ‘Sex is bad, sex is bad, you’re going to hell, sex is bad,’ and then seeing on the news that the president is having an affair, it’s not really put in a good light. So I wanted to be part of a film, a beautiful film, about something that should be viewed in a beautiful light. This is a nice thing, it’s fun, everyone does it, it’s great and when it’s safe – and we’re promoting safe sex – and when it’s someone you’re in love with, it’s great.”
Of course, it’s also worth noting her ambition to become an actress. As she readily admits, this opportunity offered a shortcut to the big screen for someone without formal training. However, 9 Songs, directed by Michael Winterbottom, is unlikely to appeal to sensation-seeking audiences. Instead, it’s a film more suited to viewers of Sight and Sound and art-house enthusiasts. Winterbottom, known for diverse and acclaimed films like In This World and Wonderland, as well as the cult classic 24 Hour Party People, consciously aimed to depict sex naturally, devoid of exploitation or exaggerated drama.
The film’s success in achieving this naturalism also contributes to its lack of erotic appeal. Film critics often react strongly to sexual arousal in cinema, often equating it with pornography. Many critics praised 9 Songs precisely for its failure to elicit arousal. This factor also seems to be the reason it passed uncut through British censorship; while graphic, it was deemed not pornographic – unlikely to sexually excite its audience.
But if not for sexual gratification, what is the purpose of watching two people engage in sexual acts? Recent years have seen art-house directors, particularly in France, attempt to portray sex more openly and less decorously. In 2001, French director Patrice Chéreau filmed Intimacy in Britain, starring Mark Rylance and Kerry Fox. This stark, somber film was notable for featuring what was considered the first mainstream depiction of oral sex. Yet, despite its realistic portrayals of intimacy, Intimacy was not primarily focused on showcasing sex itself.
Michael Winterbottom’s inspiration for an explicit sex film originated from Michel Houellebecq’s novel Platform. He even approached Houellebecq with the idea of adapting the book. Platform, an exploration of sex tourism and the deteriorating sexual dynamics between Western men and women, uses sex, described frankly, to convey deeper meanings beyond the physical act.
However, Winterbottom adopted Houellebecq’s matter-of-fact style while omitting the broader context. 9 Songs shows the young couple using cocaine, a vibrator, and visiting a strip club – all depicted without moral judgment. Yet, this absence of judgment also leads to a lack of tension and depth. The most compelling aspect of the sex in 9 Songs is the involvement of Kieran O’Brien, an experienced actor, and Margo Stilley, a young woman who, under ordinary circumstances, would not be filmed in such intimate acts.
Stilley remains hesitant to discuss the on-set experience. She believes that revealing details would undermine the audience’s belief in Lisa, her character. However, the character of Lisa is barely sketched, existing primarily as a body in the film. As O’Brien’s character states at the film’s outset, “When I remember Lisa, I don’t think about her clothes, or her work, where she was from, or even what she said.” The audience is left with a similar impression.
9 Songs, while undeniably art-house, shares similarities with hardcore pornography in its minimal script – dialogue is largely limited to moans and gasps – and rudimentary plot: an English glaciologist and an American student meet at a concert, have sex, attend another concert, have more sex, and so on for nine concerts, until their relationship ends.
Unlike pornography’s often exaggerated performances, the sex in 9 Songs appears to stem from genuine physical attraction. However, the lack of emotional engagement for the viewer positions them as voyeurs. As the characters remain underdeveloped, attention naturally shifts to the actors portraying them. Are they merely “acting,” or is there authentic connection? Is the sex not just unsimulated, but genuinely stimulating?
“That was never an option,” Stilley insists. “We were working.”
I suggest that on-set affairs are not unheard of.
“Yeah, but we were super über-professional. Any muddiness could have blown things off course.”
This raises an intriguing notion: a film about passionate sex could be derailed if the actors developed genuine passion for each other during filming. This highlights the acting involved, method acting pushed to its limits. After all, erections and ejaculations cannot be faked. These physiological realities were achieved by O’Brien, with Stilley’s considerable participation, on screen. In this sense, there’s potentially more scope for “acting” in the female sexual performance, both on and off screen. Regarding whether Stilley also experienced orgasm for authenticity, she states: “It was not a sexual experience. The entire film was not a sexual experience for me, in terms of emotions or being aroused.”
Both actors have been careful to distance themselves from any personal attraction. “I didn’t fancy her,” O’Brien has stated. “I felt protective towards her. On set she was the only woman with a crew of four lads. I know how difficult it was for her. You can’t get away from the fact she’s a young girl.”
Stilley refutes any suggestion that the shoot was problematic for her. “Probably the first time we took off our clothes was the most difficult time, but everything after that just kind of came along. It was very easy because this was the basis of our film so we knew this is what we were going to do, so I was prepared when I came in. I can’t speak for anyone else involved.”
Regardless of the on-set dynamics, O’Brien is correct about Stilley’s youth. She was 21 during filming, an age when mistakes are easily made. Even Kerry Fox, a seasoned actress, seemed to regret her role in Intimacy, or at least its impact on her career, despite winning a Silver Bear at Berlin. She described the film’s aftermath as the “worst two years” because it “made people even more frightened of working with me than they had been before.”
In response to accusations of exploiting Stilley’s youth, Winterbottom has countered, “Is Marlon Brando just the man who was in Last Tango In Paris?” The more apt comparison, however, is Maria Schneider, Brando’s 19-year-old co-star, who became increasingly resentful about her role in that film. Stilley, however, emphasizes that Winterbottom placed no pressure on her and she maintained veto power over any scenes she felt uncomfortable with.
Yet, the nature of the sex was undeniably directed by Winterbottom. “Michael had this way of puppeteering us around,” she recalls, adding that she wouldn’t replicate her on-screen actions in her personal life. “Michael did convey a lot. He was specific.”
She was single during filming, and remains so. I asked if she would have taken the role if in a relationship.
“I don’t know. I know personally I don’t want to see my new boyfriend’s holiday pictures. I don’t want to see my boyfriend doing that with anyone else, ever. I know it’s happened, I’m sure he’s had sex before me, but I don’t want to think about it or know.”
Ultimately, she has no regrets, expressing pride in her performance and the film itself. She is also pleased to have gained a foothold in acting, although she may pursue other career paths. “I’m feeling very careful about what I choose to do next. I’m going to wait for something that I know that I can do well. The next film I do I’m sure I’ll be buttoned up to the nose.”
As of yet, there is no confirmed next film role. Last year she mentioned Winterbottom offering her a part in his next project, but this proved premature.
“Well, he did,” she clarifies, “but I think he passed on the project, which is fine. But I don’t doubt if something comes up that he thinks I’d be suited to he’d cast me. He was going to,” she adds with playful desperation, gently mocking the perception of her as naive.
It appears both Winterbottom and Stilley acted in good faith, and it’s more probable that Winterbottom will navigate the aftermath with greater ease in terms of public perception. He is involved in numerous projects, and 9 Songs feels like a brief, albeit skillfully executed, diversion – almost a formal experiment to examine the possibility of making an explicit sex film. As Winterbottom himself stated, “Part of the point of making the film was to say, ‘What’s wrong with showing sex?’” The self-aware nature of Winterbottom’s challenge to prudishness is subtly reflected in the film’s runtime: 69 minutes.
In an era where explicit and diverse depictions of sex are readily available online, where books detailing unconventional sexual practices become international bestsellers, and sex is so overtly present in culture, questioning what is wrong with showing sex is not unreasonable. 9 Songs’ answer seems to be, “nothing much.” And nothing more.
It might become a groundbreaking work, ushering in a new era of explicit content in British cinema, or it could simply become a fleeting curiosity. Regardless, Stilley seems unfazed. “I’m very happy with what’s happened so far,” she says with a broad Southern smile, “and now we’ll see what happens with the press.”
· 9 Songs is released on 11 March
