Writer/director Rodrigo Garcia has rounded up a monstrous cast – Glenn Close,
Robin Wright Penn, Ian McShane, William Fichtner and Holly Hunter, among many
others – for this disconnected but polished collection of nine stories about
nine-and-a-half women at various life crossroads.
The vignettes in Nine Lives make only superficial references to one another –
a supporting character in one occasionally plays a leading or background role
in another – and there’s no hackneyed attempt at the end to force the
stories to intertwine or reconcile. That would undermine the narrative power some
of these episodes have: The business is unfinished, and that’s half the point.
You’re often left wanting more – Penn’s, Lisa Gay Hamilton’s
and Amy Brenneman’s stories are particularly absorbing – but Garcia
deserves credit for leaving it that way and not taking the Hollywood way out,
even as he manages to give the film what could be argued is a happy ending.
Extras: Cast/crew Q&A, Four behind-the-scenes features.
Grade: B+
DVD: DVD Reviews [Nine Lives]
Nine Lives
By Billy O'Keefe
Article posted on 2/21/2006
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