Nines (2007)

"...an intricate...funny and consistently fascinating trio of stories with the same actors in different but related roles.  Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
"...metaphysical fun...an engaging mystery.  Jamie Tipps, Film Threat
"John August directs it briskly, as a gossip-era "Twilight Zone" of image and reality.  Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

Editor's Note John August, who has written such diverse films as GO, BIG FISH, CORPSE BRIDE, and CHARLIE'S ANGELS, makes his directorial debut with THE NINES, a complex, thought-provoking work divided into three sections and featuring the same actors playing different roles, with the number nine always lurking in the background. In "The Prisoner," Ryan Reynolds plays Gary, a TV star who has been placed under house arrest after going crazy because his girlfriend dumped him. He is watched closely by Margaret (Melissa McCarthy, from THE GILMORE GIRLS), a publicist who seems to know more than she is letting on, and by neighbor Sarah (Hope Davis), who is instantly attracted to him. In "Reality Television," Reynolds is a director named Gavin who is shooting a TV pilot starring McCarthy (playing a version of herself), but he's getting mixed signals from studio executive Susan (Davis), all while being filmed for a television reality program. And in "Knowing," Reynolds is Gabriel, the character in the TV pilot that Gavin was shooting, with McCarthy playing his wife, Mary, and Davis as a mysterious stranger deciding whether she should help the family, whose car has broken down on a deserted mountain. Certain minute elements repeat in each part, giving clues as to what it's all really about as fantasy and reality intertwine. David Denman (THE OFFICE) and Elle Fanning also appear in each section, while Dahlia Salem (ER) and Ben Falcone (McCarthy's real-life husband) play themselves within fictional worlds. THE NINES is a fascinating exploration of art and character that, of course, runs 99 minutes.

	Elle Fanning
	Hope Davis
	Melissa McCarthy
	Ryan Reynolds
	Alex Wurman - Original Music By
	Bruce Cohen, et. al. - Producer
	Douglas Crise - Editor
	E. Colleen Saro - Art Director
	John August - Director
	John August - Writer
	Nancy Schreiber - Cinematographer

Entertainment Weekly
"[Reynolds] here proves that he's an incisive actor....John August directs it briskly, as a gossip-era TWILIGHT ZONE of images and reality." -- Grade: B 09/07/2007 p.59

New York Times
"[A] philosophical mind teaser with satirical fangs..." 08/31/2007 p.E4

USA Today
3 stars out of 4 -- "The film features excellent performances....THE NINES is best as an examination of the responsibilities an artist bears to his or her creations." 08/31/2007 p.4E

Empire
4 stars out of 5 -- "The result plays like Todd Solondz's take on THE MATRIX, providing much needed provocation and genuine food for thought." 10/19/2007 p.84

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "August's puzzle-box plot packs in three tales each starring the increasingly, rightly bankable Ryan Reynolds." 01/01/2008 p.56

Sight and Sound
"[With] fine performances from Hope Davis and Melissa McCarthy..." 01/01/2008 p.82

Los Angeles Times
"A puzzle film in the vein of MULHOLLAND DRIVE....The stories have a vivid, hyperreal quality of them..." 08/31/2007

Ultimate DVD
4 stars out of 5 -- "[O]riginal, witty, enigmatic and highly recommended....Ryan Reynolds, in his first proper acting challenge, shines throughout..." 05/01/2008 p.108

Variety 8 of 10
Though he's since penned three Tim Burton features and both "Charlie's Angels" pics, John August's directorial debut more closely resembles his first produced screenplay, 1999's "Go." The interlocking multistory structure, bright dialogue and surprising twists of fate are all present again, though this isn't another "Pulp Fiction"-ish joyride. Instead, ambitious "The Nines" arcs from witty Hollywood insiderdom to a climactic metaphysical leap that may leave many viewers nonplussed. Nonetheless, there's more than enough intelligence, intrigue and performance dazzle to make this an adventuresome gizmo for grownups -- albeit one whose complexity presents marketing challenges...Ryan Reynolds, Hope Davis and Melissa McCarthy play different roles in the three successive tales whose true relationship to each other is only hinted at until the last few minutes...McCarthy and Davis are first-rate in roles that vary tonally but also have some significant overlaps. Reynolds gets a chance here like he's never had before -- though he's been consistently good-to-excellent in good-to-awful movies -- and he's sensational. Since it's long been clear he can do comedy, and it seems his dramatic range is broad as well, the question now isn't when he'll become an A-list star, but rather what kind he'll turn out to be. - Dennis Harvey

Reel.com 9 of 10
Whatever Ryan Reynolds is in John August's funny, offbeat The Nines, he can never be more than a "nine." Ten is an actual god, but Reynolds in any of his incarnations in this trilogy of tales can never be more than a demi-god, hence a nine. Oh, and koalas control the weather. That is the kind of daft humor that characterizes The Corpse Bride/Charlie and the Chocolate Factory screenwriter John August's feature debut, which provocatively and hilariously explores the boundaries between an artist and his creations...In many ways, the film is a showcase for Reynolds, offering the actor who has paid his dues with movies like National Lampoon's Van Wilder and Blade: Trinity a way to move into meatier roles in better movies. With The Nines, he gets to demonstrate his range, playing three distinct characters who are still somehow related...The Nines is not just a hoot, it's that increasingly rare animal, a comedy that is engaging, funny, and smart. And since this is only August's first film, it bodes well for the future. - Pam Grady