Nine Lives Review
by news.west.earthlink.net (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)October 25th, 2005
NINE LIVES
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2005 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
Robin Wright Penn, in a small but breath-taking performance that one hopes the Academy will remember at Oscar time, plays Diana, a woman who looks like she's hiding a super-sized basketball under her clingy maternity dress. While at the grocery story, she sees the man of her dreams, a guy named Damian (Jason Isaacs). They were once "Damian and Diana," he reminds her, as if that joint name held the same magic as "Sonny and Cher." Now married, but not to each other, they still have an inescapable bond. As they giggle and flirt together like young teenagers, Diana becomes increasingly uncomfortable. She wants badly to be with Damian and she resents the uncontrollable pull that his mere presence has for her. With her emotions heightened by the hormones of pregnancy, she begins to cry profusely. But, no sooner have we gotten to know this ill-fated couple than they disappear.
NINE LIVES, by writer and director Rodrigo García, whose previous film was TEN TINY LOVE STORIES, uses the medium of the short film to construct a full length motion picture. Diana's story is but one of nine such stories of women and the people around them. All the stories were filmed in one single take. Some of the stories share some common supporting characters, but the script doesn't use the structure of SHORT CUTS or CRASH, in which the stories are all tightly intertwined. In NINE LIVES, the stories almost all stand alone and could be viewed independently. What they share most of all is a strong sense of place -- one is set in a jail and another in funeral parlor -- and an absolute honesty. All of the characters are genuine and most are touching in various ways.
In another strong story, Richard (Joe Mantegna), the husband of Camille (Kathy Baker), an angry and anxious woman about to undergo a mastectomy, have a discussion just as she is about to enter the operating room. "We're nothing," she argues. "We're dreams and bones." She goes on to complain about how we are at the mercy of strangers. But having a positive outlook and not about to be operated on himself, her husband responds to her with quiet assurance and confidence, "We're not at the mercy of each other. We're connected."
You'll be connected to the stories, all of them. My only warning is not to expect a final wrap-up in the ending sequence, since this story featuring Glenn Close and Dakota Fanning has no link with the previous stories. But, as a story, it is another fine one.
NINE LIVES runs 1:55. It is rated R for "language, brief sexual content and some disturbing images" and would be acceptable for teenagers.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, October 28, 2005. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the Camera Cinemas.
Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com
Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com
***********************************************************************
Want free reviews and weekly movie and video recommendations via Email?
Just send me a letter with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
