Nine Days
A blistering experience, that takes a strange concept, courts exposition sparingly, and ultimately delivers a truly emotional and revelatory time in the cinema.
Will (Winston Duke) is a reclusive man, obsessed with a series of point-of-view videos playing on an array of old televisions in a prairie house in what is seemingly the middle of nowhere. He watches them and makes notes, ever vigilant. When one of the people on the screen kills herself, however, we find out a little bit more about Will, as he begins the process of interviewing souls for a chance to be born into her place. Aided by his similarly angelic / string-pulling friend Kyo (Benedict Wong), he works with a group of fresh souls to determine who, in his opinion, is right for the world. His own time in the world led him to believe that anyone down there can’t be too good, and has to be tough enough to survive, so the first few days of the nine days given for the assessment period focus on Will trying to identify which of Kane (Bill Skarskgard Maria (Arianna Ortiz), Mike (David Rysdahl), Alexandr (Tony Hale) and more are strong enough for this spot. But it is latecomer Emma (Zazie Beetz) who throws him off course, and as they journey through the nine days together and get closer towards a final decision, Will finds Emma’s insatiable appetite for all that is kind and good about life is addictive; and is perhaps thawing that icy cynicism he acquired in his own time on Earth.
Directed by Edson Oda, Nine Days plays out in a very ‘trust us, you’ll work it out eventually’ sort of way. It doesn’t beat you around the head with exposition up front, instead allowing you the time and space to work your way into this world. In that way, it also undoubtedly may leave viewers confused, particularly in the starting moments but also ultimately there are likely to be nuances that one viewer picks up over another. That’s also sort of the joy in this piece - we’re discovering the story not unlike Emma unravelling the joys of life through the array of screens Will makes her watch endlessly.
It’s a beautiful story, told in a way that makes it feel real and grounded despite its fantastical nature. Ultimately it leads to an emotional climax that is earned, and truly gut-wrenching in its effectiveness. Such an ending isn’t necessarily sad, moreso bittersweet, and there’s a lot of joy and perspective to be gained out of the narrative of this film.
On display here is some of the best acting you will see in cinema this year, and across the board every single actor knocks it out of the park. Of course, it’s Duke and Beetz who make the greatest impression however. Zazie Beetz brings a sweet yet strongwilled character to the front, adding believablity to the most dreamlike qualities. Her emotional cocktail of friendship, romance and utter confusion plays so well on screen, it’s easy to understand why Will would be shaken by Emma. Winston Duke gets a gorgeous role in Will, being able to span between emotionless, rage-filled, theatrical and ultimately joyful in the one character, and cements his place as a leading man.
In the end, Nine Days is the sort of film that is tough to sell, because the narrative and the surprises around that narrative are difficult to convey. It’s the way the story is told, the experience of watching it unfold on the big screen, that is truly unmissable.
