Catherine Tramell
Catherine Tramell | |
---|---|
Basic Instinct character | |
First appearance | Basic Instinct (1992) |
Last appearance | Basic Instinct 2 (2006) |
Created by | Joe Eszterhas |
Portrayed by | Sharon Stone |
Catherine Tramell is a fictional character and the main
Appearances
Basic Instinct
Basic Instinct establishes Tramell as a beautiful, wealthy heiress and successful crime novelist who is connected to the violent stabbing death of a washed-up rock musician, Johnny Boz, who was found in his bed tied to the bed posts with a white silk scarf. She is subsequently investigated by San Francisco homicide detectives Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) and Gus Moran (George Dzundza), who learn that Boz died in exactly the same manner as a character in Tramell's most recent novel. Tramell shows little emotion upon hearing of Boz's death, and under questioning by the police, behaves provocatively; in the film's most famous scene, Tramell recrosses her legs to show that she is not wearing underwear beneath her short skirt.
Curran looks into Tramell's troubled history and links her to the deaths of her wealthy parents (who died in a boating accident), her counselor at
A torrid affair between Tramell and Curran begins with the air of a cat-and-mouse game. Curran shows up at a club and witnesses her sniffing cocaine in a bathroom stall. Later, they have aggressive sex at Tramell's apartment. Roxy, jealous of Nick's relationship with Catherine, unsuccessfully attempts to kill Curran and dies in a car crash. Tramell's apparent grief over Roxy's death leads Curran to doubt her guilt. Curran then learns that as a college student, Tramell had a lesbian encounter with Beth Garner, a police psychologist with whom he previously had an affair. Upon finding the manuscript to Tramell's latest novel, and reading the final pages where the fictional detective finds his partner's dead body, Curran realizes that Moran is in danger. He is too late to stop Moran's apparent murder by Garner, whom he shoots when he thinks she is retrieving a weapon. Evidence collected in Garner's apartment points to her as the killer of Boz, Nilsen, Moran, and her own husband. She is ultimately branded as the killer.
Curran is left confused and dejected, knowing from the manuscript that Tramell, at least must have known more about Moran's murder. When he tries to confront her after returning to his apartment, the two end up making love. During a session of pillow talk where they discuss their future, Tramell reaches for something under the bed before abruptly resuming sex. The camera pans below the bed to show Tramell's weapon of choice, an ice pick, confirming that she was killer all along and that she could kill Curran and wants to do it.[6][7][8]
Basic Instinct 2
In
Tramell begins playing mind games with Glass, who finds himself becoming both frustrated and increasingly intrigued by her. Eventually, he succumbs to temptation and begins an illicit affair with Tramell. However, following the murder of his ex-wife's partner—a journalist planning to write a negative story about Glass—he suspects that she is trying to frame him for the killing. As more people close to Glass turn up dead, his obsession with Tramell grows to the point where it threatens his career and livelihood. In the meantime, Glass conducts a survey for Detective Superintendent Roy Washburn (David Thewlis), who has taken the Tramell case and is now investigating the murders and discovers aggravating elements for his earlier professional life. Eventually, Glass himself can no longer tell right from wrong and now he suspects that everything was designed by the corrupt officer for the latter to nail the writer.
During Glass' confrontation with Tramell, she reveals that her latest novel is based on the present situation, featuring characters based on herself, Glass, and the victims. Tramell gives to Glass a draft of her new book, which suggests that her next victim is his colleague, Dr. Gardosh (
Personality
In
Tramell's victims
Name | Relationship | Method | Catherine's motive | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Deaths before Basic Instinct | ||||
Marvin and Elaine Tramell | Catherine's parents | Boat explosion | To see if she could get away with it; inheritance | |
Noah Goldstein | Catherine's college counselor | Stabbed with an ice pick. | Unknown; possibly sexual sadism | |
Joseph Garner | Elizabeth Garner's husband | Shot during a drive-by shooting. | To get back at Elizabeth for dumping her after their lesbian affair at university | |
Deaths during Basic Instinct | ||||
Johnny Boz | Catherine's lover | Stabbed with an ice pick during sexual intercourse. | Unknown; possibly sexual sadism | |
Roxy | Catherine's lover | Car accident while being pursued by Nick. | This may not have been intentional, and even if it were, Nick was as likely an intended victim. | |
Officer Martin Nilsen | SFPD Internal Affairs officer | Shot in the head. | To put Nick in the same situation as her | |
Gus Moran | Nick's partner | Stabbed with an ice pick in an elevator. | To frame Elizabeth as a scapegoat for her crimes | |
Deaths after Basic Instinct | ||||
Nick Curran | Catherine's romantic partner | Unspecified; likely stabbed with an ice pick | In Basic Instinct 2, Glass tells Tramell that he has spoken to Lieutenant Phil Walker, who appeared in the first film, and she summarily dismisses this news with the remark, "Paranoid Phil. Now there's a blast from the past". Glass states: "He said you murdered a Johnny Boz and two detectives in San Francisco", to which she answers "I was never even charged". Glass finally says "Grand jury said that Nick Curran's girlfriend did it". Because only one police detective is killed onscreen in the first movie (Nilsen is an Internal Affairs officer), the implication is that Curran was the second detective to be killed. |
References
- ^ "Sharon Stone to Get Zurich Festival's "Golden Icon" Award". The Hollywood Reporter. August 26, 2021.
- ^ "Sharon Stone named a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters at Cannes". July 16, 2021.
- ^ ""You Can't Shame Me": Sharon Stone on How Basic Instinct Nearly Broke Her, Before Making Her a Star". Vanity Fair. March 18, 2021.
- ^ "100 Greatest Heroes and Villains - AFI".
- ^ Vary, Adam B. (June 1, 2010). "The 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years: Here's our full list!". Entertainment Weekly. New York City: Meredith Corporation. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
- ^ "Was Catherine Tramell the Killer in "Basic Instinct"?". August 2021.
- ^ "Basic Instinct Ending, Explained". September 30, 2020.
- ^ "Women Who Kill #1: Catherine Tramell, BASIC INSTINCT". June 2021.