Review: Nine Days

Image courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

Here's a feature debut that displays great imagination and much promise. Edson Oda's "Nine Days" seems to be inspired somewhat by Hirokazu Koreeda's 1998 film "After Life" - which imagined a staff of people who help the recently deceased to craft a scene of meaning from their lives and re-stage it, so that they could spend all of eternity reliving it - but has a unique vibe all its own.

It's a strange, occasionally melancholic and deeply felt drama about two individuals - Will (Winston Duke) and Kyo (Benedict Wong) - residing in a small clapboard house in a desert who have an unusual task. But more on that in a minute. When we first meet Will, he is watching a series of screens in the house, following the daily lives of various people with whom he's apparently familiar. 

There's one woman - a concert violinist named Amanda - in whom he's particularly interested. So, he's shocked and devastated when, on the way to a concert performance, she seemingly - and willfully - crashes her car into a wall, killing herself. Kyo tries to comfort Will, telling him that he's not to blame and that his "choice" of Amanda was still the correct one. We soon learn all about Will's choices.

Shortly thereafter, a group of individuals of varying personalities - a jokey guy named Alexander (Tony Hale), a seemingly angry and cold individual named Kane (Bill Skarsgard) and a spunky young woman who comes off as an old soul named Emma (Zazie Beetz), among others - show up at Will's doorstep. We learn that over the course of nine days, he will meet with them, provide them with tests, ask them to write essays and take part in other tasks before he is able to choose one of them to move forward.

As it turns out, the people are all souls in waiting and Will gets to choose one of them to live a life on Earth in a human body. This may sound contrived, and visions of sentimentality might form in your mind, but this is really not that kind of movie. In fact, it's often closer in nature to the aforementioned "After Life" or Michel Gondry's work - especially "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" - in terms of its quirkiness and level of introspection. In other words, it's the real deal.

Kyo tries to convince Will that Emma is the one - and, for sure, she seems the winner of the bunch. She's soulful, kind and appreciative without being too groveling, unlike Alexander, for example, who's always trying to warm Will up with a beer or a joke. But something about Emma seems to bother Will - does she remind him too much of Amanda, his former, tragic favorite, or even himself?

We learn that Will was once chosen himself, and spent time on Earth. But while he was a person of promise, it never materialized for him, and his life was awash in failure. He recalls one glorious moment as a young man when he delivered a speech during a play in school, and that scene is recalled during a lovely moment near the film's end that took me a moment to realize what was actually going on.

"Nine Days" is a movie that poses some interesting questions, but isn't too concerned with providing its audience answers. It's the type of film that asks you to consider, not come up with a response. And while its story is fanciful and cosmic, its visuals are low-key enough to be charming. It doesn't try to overstimulate visually while presenting its grandiose ideas. 

It's surprising that this is a feature film because it's the type of picture that takes risks and is thoughtful on a level that typically comes from experience. Oda's debut shows the birth of an original voice, and it's one that - like the souls-in-training who show up at Will's door - shows a lot of promise.