Director Rodrigo Garcia has become a master of short film anthologies, with this, his third venture into the genre. His previous work in this field--THINGS YOU CAN TELL JUST BY LOOKING AT HER (which stitched together five separate stories) and TEN TINY LOVE STORIES (comprised of ten tales)--was shot in 2001, and featured predominantly female casts. The vignettes that make up NINE LIVES follow in the same vein, with Garcia taking brief dips into the lives of various women who are all floundering in relationships with important people in their lives. An all-star cast helps Garcia achieve his vision, and a highly skilled team behind the camera ensures that the action is perfectly executed, as each story is shot in just one single take.
Garcia doesn't construct conventional narratives for his stories, he just drops viewers into situations, then pulls them out before any conclusions are reached. Some of the women we are exposed to are Robin Wright Penn, who plays a pregnant woman running into a former lover in a supermarket, resulting in a bout of anguish and self doubt; Ruth (Sissy Spacek), a woman caught up in an affair at a seedy motel; and Holly Hunter, playing a woman alarmed at her boyfriend's antisocial behavior. The stories are thrilling in their inconclusiveness, with Garcia leaving plenty of question marks about where these women are heading with their lives. Indeed, the first story in the film ends just as it seems to be starting, with prison inmate Sandra (Elpida Carrillo) letting out a howling, primal scream as she is pulled away from her daughter by prison guards, leaving the audience hanging in midair as the next story immediately begins. A breathtaking work that plays beautifully with the cinematic medium, NINE LIVES is an exhausting and demanding piece of work.
Theatrical Release: October 14, 2005
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Subtitles - English, French - Optional
Director of Photography
Xavier Perez Grobet: DOP
Review 1:
"[E]xtraordinarily rich and satisfying suite of fleeting but intense moments in the lives of nine women....In its subtle, understated performances, the actors vanish into characters who behave like ordinary people observed through one-way glass."
Source: New York Times
p.E20 10/14/2005
Review 2:
"Each segment seems perfectly shaped and timed, not lasting a second too long yet always of sufficient length to be satisfying in itself. Garcia's large ensemble cast is impeccable, and he and his actors have created a film as memorable as it is subtle."
Source: Los Angeles Times
p.E14 10/14/2005
Review 3:
"[A]ll of the acting is first-rate. Robin Wright Penn gives a stunning performance..."
Source: Movieline's Hollywood Life
p.101 11/01/2005
Review 4:
"[A] surprisingly rich sketchbook, boosted by the work of fine actors....Sissy Spacek is especially affecting..." -- Grade: A-
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.54 10/21/2005
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