MOVIE REVIEW: Nine Days

Even through delays, great art cant be stopped and will always be enjoyed, even if presented a little late!

The COVID scare halted many things in 2020 while simultaneously ending opportunities, relationships, and places of work as well as entertainment.
One such place affected was the movie theater. That U.S. staple – the cinema. I took the time to drive up to an AMC and saw the for lease signs up due to the affects of COVID on the business. I rerouted my destination to that crown themed cinema known as Regal, and as I walked inside I saw a poster for a film that I had been waiting a year to see. A film I thought would never see the light of day thanks to the effects of COVID on independent film last year. I strolled in to the kiosk for cash only, bought an over-priced water for $6 and gained admittance to “Nine Days” which when asked by the usher what I was going to see, forgetting the title I stated I was about to witness a Zazie Beetz film set a beach house.

“Nine Days” is that as Beetz commands the screen with her presence as she portrays a spirit of innocence, yet still equipped with the quips that she is so well known for. And yes the setting resembles something of a vacation home, except it’s surrounded more by desert than it is by beach – though there are multiple scenes for those longing for the oxymoronic mighty coolness of the ocean that can only be experienced on the sandy shore of a public beach. But these key elements are not the say all be all of Oda’s modern masterpiece. Essentially, the film stars the tag team of Winston Duke & Benedict Wong taking the time to make a predilection out of a list of candidates as to who deserves the opportunity of a lifetime. Wong, once more as in his role opposite Cumberbatch in “Dr. Strange” portrays the optimist as to what life can offer, while Duke opposite him portrays the convincing cynic, and in this realm the cynic has the final say. 6 characters are put through rigorous mental tests to decide if they are to be selected to take the advantage of the opportunity. Nothing as over the top as “Escape Room” or “The Belko Experiment” but infinitely more harrowing, as psychological scars have a much tougher chance of being recovered from in contrast to physical maladies.

Mostly these tests are based off series of questions that both the audience , the actors, and the characters that they portray can chew on to the point that once hitting paydirt, something about the self has been discovered. Learned. No matter how beautiful or repulsive in the eye of the beholder, Oda’s screenplay uncovers hidden gems of all who participate within this spectacle – from the spectators to the players, “Nine Days” is a fully immersive experience that though one may not want it to end, by the time that the credits roll midway, the gravity of the film can make it to where you’ll be happy to leave as peaceful as possible, which Oda makes virtually impossible. As different as all the characters are, their archetypes appear to form a single character. Their personalities as overexaggerated as the laughter of Tony Hale as he portrays one of the candidates. Overexaggerated as they are, make no mistake, the characters are still real, maintaining their humanity by being far from cartoony. Presenting a level of naked humanity that can be as oft recognized as oft hidden, at least from public view in fear of reprimandation from the strict confines of societal codes aka the monster’s under your bed.

Duke portrays the perfect boss conflicted with his job and how his personal experiences overlap and conflict with his otherwise stoic demeanor is a sight to see.
An absolute riot when this man’s lips give way to a smile when trying to hold the mask of a grimace and of course these scenes are usually brought on by the appearance of Zazie Beetz who once again radiates the screen. Her role on the surface is nothing profound, all she does is just ask more questions than the next candidate – but her curiosity is the character trait that lets the secret loose that she is the heart & spirit of this picture. Arriving in a dress the color of the peaches she eats within the film, like a mythological mate created only to make one feel like the only man in the world when her eyes meet the camera, every male in the film is openly smitten with Beetz as is in the case with every production this esteemed actress has starred in. And in “Nine Days” she stars like a supernova. Hats off to her agent, though the city has become a fad, Beetz in “Atlanta” – captivating. In “Deadpool II” – heart stopping. And as the unattainable love interest in both “Sollers Point” & the Academy Award winning “Joker” – the pining was present both on-screen and in-crowd. So by the sheer fact of Oda’s casting ability to not allow any of the other players to be outshined by the born star that is Beetz, while still succeeding at the task of letting her naturally light up the screen and not minimizing her shine, that alone deserves a standing ovation.

The existential narrative is a road that has familiar grooves, and if not careful a director can start to show their shark fangs as they bite into and borrow from the existential works that have come before their offering. Oda kept his fangs on standby. Though the VCR tapes and multiple television screens displaying the everyday lives of people you have or have yet to interact with in life is nothing new, Oda’s delivery is fresh as ever as he takes the characters, the audience, and himself through an emotional spectrum :

In “Nine Days” everyone involved will cry, laugh, love, lust, hurt, hope, despond, decide. Everyone involved will live and everyone involved will die. Yes, including you whether or not you watch this film. And through the eyes of many, projected on to the eyes of many – Oda will take you through a lifetime in the span of a few hours runtime, a feat that even the greatest of epics can only envy to accomplish.

Let them envy. Long live Oda. And long live indie film.

Score: 5/5
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C.V.R. The Bard