David O'ConnellThe Nines
August 26th 2009 04:57
From the imagination of John August - screenwriter of the acclaimed Go (1999) and regular adaptor for Tim Burton - comes a daringly original film that defies categorization. Delving at times into sci-fi, theological and philosophical ideas, The Nines is divided into three strangely overlapping stories with the same three actors in different but interconnected lead roles.
Ryan Reynolds is the real star, playing either a figure of Godly proportions or a man suffering from a severe psychosis. Though the open-ended dénouement will be baffling to most, the imaginative force driving its wild ideas to the surface will raise an admiring smirk of cynicism if nothing else. You have to hand it to August; The Nines is a unique concoction, a screenplay brimming with intriguing, mind-bending designs and alive with ambiguity.
In Part One, ‘The Prisoner’, Reynolds plays Gary, a washed-up TV actor under house arrest who draws the attention of an inscrutable, eccentric neighbour Sarah (Hope Davis). His pesky publicist Margaret (Melissa McCarthy) begins hanging around to ensure he stays clean but may know more about the bigger picture than she’s letting on.
In Part Two, ‘Reality Television’, Reynolds is Gavin, a rising star amongst TV screenwriters with a hot new show under development with friend Melissa (McCarthy) in the lead role. He remains at loggerheads with his superior Susan (Davis) who demands a more marketable star to take Melissa’s place after early testing proves negative.
Part Three, ‘Following’, appears to be a fleshing out of the show being filmed in the second part, with Reynolds appearing as a leading video game designer who gets stranded in the woods with his wife (McCarthy) and child (Elle Fanning). A suspicious trekker (Davis) comes to his aid but may have sinister motives.
It would spoil the fun to disclose too much about what makes these merging stories tick, including the meaning of the number 9. Suffice to say, elements from each intrude upon one another, sometimes in the form of ghostly, hallucinatory glimpses, oblique references in verbal exchanges or visual motifs. The clever conceit of a continually evolving story-within-a-story ties everything together but there’s an audacious sense of possibly polluting the mix with an overload of ideas.
The three leads are excellent, especially Reynolds who's the real surprise packet here. His three personas are of a piece but with interesting distinctions and he even manages to keep his usually smarmy, sarcastic mannerisms to a minimum. Davis underlines her class yet again, whilst McCarthy also conveys depth in a couple of choice scenes, though her mostly perky demeanor is a bit grating at times.
August doesn’t prescribe simplistic solutions, his explanations requiring a leap of faith to make them work. It’s not easy to make an artistic statement about the risks of immersing oneself in the creative process - or even the meaning of life itself - and not have the audience laugh in your face. The Nines manages to avoid the trap of reductive clichés whilst providing sterling entertainment value at the same time. An intriguing mess or a poignant encapsulation of important ideas? You’ll have great fun deciding either way.
Ryan Reynolds is the real star, playing either a figure of Godly proportions or a man suffering from a severe psychosis. Though the open-ended dénouement will be baffling to most, the imaginative force driving its wild ideas to the surface will raise an admiring smirk of cynicism if nothing else. You have to hand it to August; The Nines is a unique concoction, a screenplay brimming with intriguing, mind-bending designs and alive with ambiguity.
In Part One, ‘The Prisoner’, Reynolds plays Gary, a washed-up TV actor under house arrest who draws the attention of an inscrutable, eccentric neighbour Sarah (Hope Davis). His pesky publicist Margaret (Melissa McCarthy) begins hanging around to ensure he stays clean but may know more about the bigger picture than she’s letting on.
Ryan Reynolds and Hope Davis in Part Three
In Part Two, ‘Reality Television’, Reynolds is Gavin, a rising star amongst TV screenwriters with a hot new show under development with friend Melissa (McCarthy) in the lead role. He remains at loggerheads with his superior Susan (Davis) who demands a more marketable star to take Melissa’s place after early testing proves negative.
Part Three, ‘Following’, appears to be a fleshing out of the show being filmed in the second part, with Reynolds appearing as a leading video game designer who gets stranded in the woods with his wife (McCarthy) and child (Elle Fanning). A suspicious trekker (Davis) comes to his aid but may have sinister motives.
It would spoil the fun to disclose too much about what makes these merging stories tick, including the meaning of the number 9. Suffice to say, elements from each intrude upon one another, sometimes in the form of ghostly, hallucinatory glimpses, oblique references in verbal exchanges or visual motifs. The clever conceit of a continually evolving story-within-a-story ties everything together but there’s an audacious sense of possibly polluting the mix with an overload of ideas.
Melissa McCarthy on set with director John August
The three leads are excellent, especially Reynolds who's the real surprise packet here. His three personas are of a piece but with interesting distinctions and he even manages to keep his usually smarmy, sarcastic mannerisms to a minimum. Davis underlines her class yet again, whilst McCarthy also conveys depth in a couple of choice scenes, though her mostly perky demeanor is a bit grating at times.
August doesn’t prescribe simplistic solutions, his explanations requiring a leap of faith to make them work. It’s not easy to make an artistic statement about the risks of immersing oneself in the creative process - or even the meaning of life itself - and not have the audience laugh in your face. The Nines manages to avoid the trap of reductive clichés whilst providing sterling entertainment value at the same time. An intriguing mess or a poignant encapsulation of important ideas? You’ll have great fun deciding either way.
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Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
I really enjoyed the cerebral manipulation of this piece too. A fascinating mash up of ideas that somehow doesn't get cluttered...easily the best film Ryan Reynolds name has been attached too.
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
JD, it truly is cerebral manipulation from August and very clever at that. Couldn't agree more about Reynolds too, nothing comes close to his work here.