An unusual drama about the process of selecting souls for life before birth, Nine Days will have you thinking twice about everything you thought you believed.
I love a small film with depth. If you’re thinking outside of the box, that is my kind of movie. I want to wonder and ponder on it long after it’s over, then recommend it to others and wait for them to watch it. Those are the most fun, and that is definitely what we have here.
Nine Days is about a company man, Will, who is charged with watching over the human souls that he has selected to be in bodies on earth. When one of them dies, he needs to choose a new one from five candidates to be born. Going through the interview process, he learns a lot about all of them – and himself.
This is a very difficult film to talk about without giving away pieces that might be important to your viewing experience, so please know that off the bat. I cannot and will not be able to say much. That said, this is a very thought-provoking and cerebral movie. And to be clear, it is not religious in any way.
Conceptually, this movie is very different from anything you’ve seen before. It is very small, there are only a handful of (all fantastic) actors (particularly Winston Duke and Zazie Beetz), and it takes a little bit to get into. I did not understand the full picture of what was happening for quite awhile, so give it time.
Nine Days is an incredibly soulful movie. As much as we like to discuss what happens after death, there aren’t many movies that I can think of that cover what it might be like before we are born. One of the things that Will repeats to each candidate is that, should they make it through the process, they will not remember anything, but they will still be who they are. That is an interesting thought.
While I can see many points during which someone would connect with this film, it was a slow build for me. I enjoyed it all, but I could feel my emotional attachment ramp up as time went on. And I absolutely loved the ending. I thought it was beautiful and all of the emotions welled up inside of me that I hadn’t fully felt before that moment.
That is all that I can say about this film. Please take my delicacy as a gift and watch the movie to experience it for yourself. Then let me know what you think!
Runtime: 124 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: R
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
Available: To rent on Prime Video or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
I love a small film with depth. If you’re thinking outside of the box, that is my kind of movie. I want to wonder and ponder on it long after it’s over, then recommend it to others and wait for them to watch it. Those are the most fun, and that is definitely what we have here.
