An ensemble cast of talented actresses reveal several pressing issues for women in NINE LIVES. The film is broken down in several episodic scenes, titled with one of the nine women’s names, and focuses on a pressing issue. These topics include imprisonment, loss, love, betrayal and death, amongst many others. The film co-stars a number of character actors including, Kathy Baker, Mary Kay Place, Joe Mantenga and Stephen Dillane, and also some heavy hitters like Sissy Spacek, Robin Wright Penn, Glen Close and Dakota Fanning.
NINE LIVES works on many levels, and as several different films. Each segment can serve as its own entity, a short film, but is greater enhanced by the short films that precede and follow it. Some of the characters appear in multiple shorts, but it’s not used as a gimmick or a clever trick, yet an understated way to demonstrate the connectivity and continuity of all women. Each of the short films is shot with a steady cam, allowing for no editing to occur. Again, this could have been seen as pretentious, but director Rodrigo Garcia utilizes this technique to simply have us walk with his characters for a short while. All of the shorts work, but some have a greater impact than others. A romance rekindled at a supermarket, a forbidden affair and memories of a loved one are the three which not only have the greatest emotional force, but are also handled with great subtlety and care. NINE LIVES is a balanced and successful collection of women’s short subjects.
Grade: B
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