The Nines.

The Nines is "an intriguing, episodic film that starts out genuinely creepy and funny and ends up like an overblown Twilight Zone episode," writes Andrew O'Hehir at Salon. "Hell, at least it's a good Twilight Zone episode. [John] August's directing debut - he's a veteran screenwriter who's penned several films for Tim Burton, including Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Corpse Bride - occasioned a certain amount of yammer at Sundance last winter, but I honestly can't see much here to discuss. By all means see the film; it's an ingenious, interlocking construction worthy of Agatha Christie, with tour-de-force performances from Hope Davis, Ryan Reynolds and Melissa McCarthy and a clever backstage-Hollywood premise (several movie-biz personalities play themselves). But David Lynch this ain't; you'll go to bed with all your questions answered, and answered with a kind of moon-faced, altar-boy earnestness."

Updated through 9/4.

"Though the barrier separating reality and fiction is flimsy, Reynolds's triplicate performance is strapping, nimbly segueing between frustration, cockiness, and existential confusion while nicely keeping his trademark sarcasm in check," writes Nick Schager at Slant. "Even when August's ability to wrap up his interrelated narratives and Big Issues proves slightly lacking, Reynolds is never less than commanding, his exhibition of genuine acting ability provoking a shift in perception at least as great as that brought about by The Nines' mind-bending finale."

"It's strange to complain about a rare case of ambitious Hollywood filmmaking, but The Nines frustrates one's enlightenment by not fulfilling its true subject: the delusions and aggravations of company-town high living," writes Armond White in the New York Press. "Instead, August substitutes false substance. Reynolds' gift for cute mischief (as in National Lampoon's Van Wilder and his role as the snarky vampire of Blade Trinity) ideally suits him to a parody of movieland's pretty persuasions. Flip irony is Reynolds' ace, but August chooses to play the profundity card."

"[A]t least when [Charlie] Kaufman, David Lynch, or Michel Gondry invites us on a tour of his chaotic subconscious, it's a fascinating place to visit," writes Scott Foundas in the Voice. "Plunging into August's gray matter is more like a season in vacation hell."

For Filmmaker, Nick Dawson talks with August "about the world of The Nines, drawing on his own experiences for inspiration, and his continuing love of The Muppet Movie."

David A Keeps in the Los Angeles Times: "Few directors would surrender their personal living space to a crew of 40, let alone reveal it to the general public exactly as it is in real life, not one room disguised with props or other fakery. But it is August's unaltered interior design - finishes, furnishings and all - that lends intimacy and emotional veracity to the story. He wouldn't have it any other way, especially when scenes were conceived with particular rooms in mind."

Update: "A late-night stoner conversation that has inexplicably bypassed the dorm room and headed straight into theaters, The Nines offers up one of the most incompetent would-be mindfucks in a time already saturated with aspiring Mementos," writes Vadim Rizov after a spoiler warning at the Reeler. "The reasons are manifold, but the irreparable error is in the foundation; everything else just hurts all the more."

Updates, 8/31: "Like David Lynch's recent Inland Empire, The Nines scurries down a labyrinth of rabbit holes, compounding the mystery to the point of no return, and never really comes back," writes Carina Chocano in the Los Angeles Times. "Still, August never descends into the psychedelic mire of that movie, or of, say, the metaphysical bowl of oatmeal that was The Fountain. On the contrary, it dispenses about a minor epiphany a minute and hooks you like a flounder. In the end, though, perhaps very much like a flounder, you're left flapping in the breeze with nothing more than a lure in your mouth, the painful realization there's always a bigger fish out there somewhere, pulling the strings and, for what it's worth, a deeper insight into the interconnectedness of it all. Which, on reflection, has got to be worth at least the price of admission."

"The Nines isn't a neatly packaged mind game like Mr Kaufman's cleverest films," writes Stephen Holden in the New York Times. "Instead it playfully tosses out ideas, then leaves it to the viewer to read the pieces like tea leaves."

Update, 9/2: "The loose threads holding The Nines together unravel with any interpretation; actually, the film only ever felt stitched together in the first place," writes Marcy Dermansky. "2 stars."

Update, 9/4: For IFC News, Nick Schager talks with Reynolds: John August "said, 'Expose me, warts-and-all.' A lot of what that character is dealing with is hubris, and that's not a flattering trait to be portraying in somebody who's standing in the same room as you."

Posted by dwhudson at August 30, 2007 12:59 AM