Writer: John August
Director: John August
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Melissa McCarthy, Hope Davis, Elle Fanning, David Denman
Rating: R
Studio: Sony Pictures
Release Date: January 29, 2008
I’m well aware of the fact that not everyone is going to like the same movie. To find out what I’m talking about go to practically any movie on IMDB. I guarantee there will be at least one topic in the forum for the movie that has the title “Worst Movie Ever” or “I Don’t Get It”. I’ve seen a lot of bad movies, and trust me, most of the time, the movies they consider to be the “worst” aren’t even close to the dreadfulness I’ve watched on screen. That being said, I don’t think everyone is going to like the film that marks the “official” directorial debut of John August, The Nines.
That’s not to say that The Nines is bad because it’s not. In fact, I thought it was quite brilliant. Still, it’s hard for people to watch a movie that’s smarter than they are and not be offended when they just don’t “get it”. The Nines is one of those types of films. In the vast majority of cases, it will be the intellectuals and bohemians (the artists, the actors, etc.) who will appreciate this film. The rest may want to curl up with their copy of Navy Seals and watch that instead.
Release Information:
The Nines debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, on January 21, 2007. From there, it headed to Cannes where it played on May 16, 2007. The movie enjoyed a limited theatrical release in the United States on August 31, 2007 before heading to the Venice Film Festival on September 3, 2007. With a release in the UK in November and a appearance of the movie scheduled at the Istanbul Independent Film Festival in Turkey on February 18, 2008, The Nines has made its rounds.
The DVD is set to be released tomorrow, January 29, 2008, by Sony Pictures as The Nines – Special Edition. The DVD is available online through Amazon and other retailers. It currently costs around $19.99. With a runtime of 99 minutes, the film is just perfect in length for its purpose.
The Nines Plot
The Nines will take you on an ethereal journey through the lives of three men, Gary, Gavin, and Gabriel, who are all played by Ryan Reynolds. The three men’s lives are intertwined in the same way as the threads of the friendship bracelet Ryan Reynolds weaves together at the beginning of the film. If people do not at least pick up that much from this film then I pity the fool who has to watch the movies they enjoy.
In case you don’t know who John August is, chances are you have watched one of the films he’s written. Do Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie’s Angels, Big Fish, or Corpse Bride ring any bells? He’s the genius behind the screenplays of 3 out of 4 good movies. Sure, the Charlie’s Angels thing was more fluff than substance, but everyone deserves the chance to make one or two career mistakes (see Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle).
Needless to say, after expanding on the idea for a short he created entitled “God” (at least that is what I assume from the interwoven dialogue that links the two films together), he has developed The Nines. While both are amusing (and star the much more talented cousin of Jenny McCarthy, Melissa), The Nines works best as a feature length film where “God” would have become redundant quickly had August made it any longer than it is.
John August writes what I like to call a “smart film” with relative ease and aplomb. While the story may seem confusing in that “Pulp Fiction” backwards storytelling, Tarantino-esque way, it all comes together and makes sense in the end…that is, if you get it.
The Nines is more than just about the number nine, though with the way it shows up in this movie, it might be a safe assumption to say nine is the most important element in the film. While everything sounds sort of cryptic when describing the film, The Nines is cryptic so it’s hard to avoid the air of mystery surrounding the movie.
What will make sense is the fact that Gary is an actor who is forced into house arrest after he does something pretty damn stupid. It involves drugs, a car, and divine intervention. In the first section of the film, “The Prisoner”, Gary’s house arrest occurs in the home of another of his agent’s clients who is off shooting a television pilot. Taking care of all of Gary’s needs is Margaret (Melissa McCartney) and tempting his desire to escape the confines of his own prison is Sarah (Hope Davis).
In the second story, “Reality Television”, Gavin is filming a television pilot. He wants his good friend, actress, Melissa McCartney to play the lead role in his film. As you might have guessed, Melissa plays herself in this one. Wanting Gavin to reconsider, his trusted assistant, Susan (Hope Davis) convinces him that Melissa is all wrong for the part.
Finally, a video game designer named Gabriel seems to be living his life in parallel to the story told in Gavin’s on screen pilot. Gabriel is on a secluded trail with his wife, Mary (Melissa McCartney) and his daughter, Noelle (Elle Fanning), who is mute. When they head back to the car, it won’t start. Gabriel decides to walk back to the main road, where he runs into Sierra (Hope Davis), a woman who has a tattoo of a nine on her neck, and leads him on a wild goose chase to find help.
That’s really all that can be said about the plot for The Nines. Anything else would give things away and still I think I might have said too much. With wit and wisdom John August brings to light a deep, thought-provoking, non-lecturing film about life, addiction, and spirituality. Having a belief in something is simply not enough and believing in yourself is good, but one day, everyone has to wake up and face the true reality of the life that has been dealt to us. The Nines is here to remind us of that.
The superlative acting is led by the outstanding Melissa McCartney. John August wrote the roles of Margaret, Melissa and Mary specifically for McCartney. She played the lead role in his short, “God”, so I’m assuming the two are old friends. Needless to say, McCartney adds the perfect flavor to the myriad of emotions brought on by lead character, Ryan Reynolds, in all his incarnations (Gary/Gavin/Gabriel). Adding in the bittersweet (or is it saucily sour?) performance by Hope Davis, and the entire plot is woven together by those intricate threads we discussed previously. All in all, all of the elements (directing, plot, acting) come together to make one terrific, intelligent film.
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
While the majority of The Nines is shot in anamorphic widescreen format, there is at least one moment in 2.35:1. Either way, the quality remains consistently clear and free of visual errors. There isn’t any grain. The colors are bright and details are sharp. There are only minor coloration problems that will affect giving the visual quality of the film a perfect rating.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 English mix makes up for any problems with the picture of the movie. The soundtrack is used to enhance the viewing experience, specifically catering to the viewer and creating a mood for various parts throughout the movie. Each sound from instrumentation to dialogue is clear and easy to understand. I hate when I have to adjust the volume throughout the movie. It wasn’t a problem with The Nines. Closed Captioning, as well as optional subtitles in English, Spanish, and French are accessible through the root menu.
Visual: 
Audio:
Bonus Features:
There are two commentaries available on The Nines DVD. The first features Ryan Reynolds and John August. It was supposed to play in theaters during the movie as a podcast, but like Kevin Smith, who had a similar idea for Clerks 2, August was shafted by theater owners who don’t allow podcasting…stingy bastards. This commentary isn’t the best, but it certainly isn’t the worst. Most of it stems from John August’s ability to speak, which is better communicated through film then through dialogue.
The second commentary features John August, again, Melissa McCartney and Douglas Crise, the editor for the film. This one was more interesting simply because thoughts flow more easily for August. It’s like commentary #1 was his dress rehearsal for this commentary. While both offer similar information, I liked #2 better. Which one you like may depend on whether Ryan Reynolds or Melissa McCartney is more your cup of tea.
The hilariously brilliant comedy short, “God”, which I’ve mentioned several times, is an extra. I recommend watching it after you watch The Nines. It makes so much more sense, especially in some of the dialogue Melissa McCartney says during The Nines. This feature also comes with its own, optional commentary.
Other features, since this disc is chocked full of them, include a featurette called “Script to Storyboard to Screen”, which basically shows the evolution from Script to Screen, over ten minutes of deleted scenes, a featurette called “Summing up The Nines“, which is the standard making-of feature, and a photo slideshow. Trailers for upcoming Sony Pictures releases (in a vast quantity) are also on the disc. The trailers include: “Dragon Wars,” “Southland Tales,” “Revolver,” “Resident Evil: Extinction,” “Boogeyman 2,” “Gabriel,” “Slipstream,” “Across the Universe,” “Romance & Cigarettes,” “Zombie Strippers,” “Black Water,” “Damages: Season 1″ and “We Own the Night”.
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Bottom Line:
The Nines is one of those movies you have to watch through to the end to get it. Even then, you might not, and that’s okay. If you like Ryan Reynolds, smart, non-Paris Hilton clone actresses, and excellent story telling, try renting this first before buying. I think its brilliant and you may not. If you don’t I recommend you check out Navy Seals instead. This Charlie Sheen flick will be right up your alley.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: The Nines, DVD review, Ryan Reynolds, Melissa McCartney, Hope Davis, God
[...] their friendship, was an excellent choice. I first saw Melissa in The Nines and the short The Nines was based on, God. From that moment on, I loved Melissa. She’s perfect to play the annoyingly [...]