Year of Release: 2005
Director: Rodrigo Garcia
Starring: Glenn Close, Holly Hunter, Sissy Spacek, Robin Wright, Amy Brenneman, Amanda Seyfried, LisaGay Hamilton, Kathy Baker, Mary Kay Place, Jason Isaacs, Stephen Dillane, Ian McShane, Molly Parker, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Miguel Sandoval, Elpidia Carrillo, William Fichtner, Aidan Quinn, Joe Mantegna, Dakota Fanning
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Tubi
Synopsis and Review
After making his directorial feature debut with "Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her", writer/director Rodrigo Garcia tackled a series of interesting projects, including directing episodes for HBO's "Six Feet Under", "The Sopranos", and "Carnivale". He also directed "Ten Tiny Love Stories" before releasing "Nine Lives", which once again premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, on its way to being nominated for a few Independent Spirit Awards. Much like his debut, the narrative of the film centers on 9 different stories/vignettes. The first one focuses on Sandra, who is in prison, and has a meltdown upon not being able to communicate with her daughter. The second vignette tracks Diana and Damian, who used to be in a relationship and connect once again while at the supermarket. Their connection is still very much alive, even though they've moved on and have other partners in their lives, and Diana is pregnant. The following vignette tracks the life of Holly who is unexpectedly visiting the home where she grew up, meeting her sister there. That house is triggering for her, since it's where her sexually abusive stepfather still lives. Another vignette has a couple, Sonia and Martin, visiting their friends Lisa and Damian in their new apartment. The tension between them is palpable and keeps escalating right in front of their friends. Another segment follows Samantha, a teenager living with her parents, who don't communicate much with each other. Her parents Ruth and Larry love her terribly, but her mother is going through a tryst with a widower, as Larry is wheelchair-bound. Another vignette focuses on Lorna, who is attending a funeral with her parents. It is the funeral of her ex-husband's wife, and he admits to his desire for her when they connect at the church. The final two vignettes also deal with mortality, firstly with Camille who is facing breast cancer surgery, and secondly with Maggie who is doing a picnic at the cemetery and talking to her young daughter, whom we suddenly realize has already passed away.
I've mentioned it before, and will do so again. Creating films with mosaic-like narratives isn't the easiest task. Mostly because the more characters these writers (and in this case, also director) try to bring to life, the more challenging it is to capture one's attention. These characters end up having a very limited amount of screen time in which they have to create a connection with the audience, but also in that limited screen time illustrate an inner life, and whatever conflict/desire/ambition, they're currently going through. Paul Thomas Anderson was able to do so very efficiently and with a profound emotional connection in "Boogie Nights" and "Magnolia". He focused on a set of characters, and took us on a journey with all them, peppering the events with humor, drama, thrills, and even ridicule. Rodrigo Garcia instead creates vignettes, which can be occurring all in the same time frame, and they may not, since some of these characters crossover to some vignettes, whereas others do not. What some of these vignettes come across however, in terms of perspective at least and some more than others, is at times very stage like. These vignettes and sequences feel very similar to short plays that are being put on to illustrate a topic, and not so much a character. Because every single narrative is so boxed-in, these lives that are illustrated in this feature, feel both enigmatic, but also artificial, since they ultimately leave more unsaid about who these characters are, more so than the topic they aim to illustrate/bring to life. The most theatrical of the vignettes is quite possible the one with Robin Wright and Jason Isaacs, whereas the most successful is the one featuring Glenn Close and Dakota Fanning, precisely because it feels authentic, lived in, of a mother living with the absence of a daughter taken too soon. How do you live with absence - you let memories envelop you and play a pillar of support as you keep living. It's an interesting film with solid performances, particularly by Glenn Close, Dakota Fanning, Kathy Baker, Joe Mantegna, Robin Wright, Sissy Spacek, and Mary Kay Place. The production team is solid, particularly Xavier Grobet's cinematography, Edward Shearmur's score, and Courtney Jackson's production design. It may not hit all the buttons, but it's definitely worth watching.
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