Nine Lives

There are many films such as Babel and Crash which attempt to encompass the complexities of intersecting lives. If Nine Lives does not have the same sweeping scope of these films, it is nevertheless an interesting and worthy attempt to capture, in real time, the essence of drama and pain in its subjects’ lives. Some of the main characters in one story turn up again as minor players in another story, but this seems of less importance than actually capturing the emotion of what these women are going through. Perhaps even more interesting is that the film has been conceived, written and directed by a male.

Columbian-born Rodrigo Garcia certainly has an unusual insight into the hearts and minds of women, and some of the episodes absolutely nail emotions that many of the audience will be able to relate to. Whilst some of the stories work better than others, a couple stand out forcefully. One such is the story of Diana, in which Robin Wright Penn gives a searing and poignant performance as the now-pregnant wife who runs into her old lover, Damian, played by Jason Isaacs (best known as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter series). It is a testament to the calibre of Garcia’s script and Penn’s acting that in a mere 15 minutes so much empathy and emotion can be wrung out of the character.

Another episode that really worked for me was that of Kathy Baker’s Camille, anxiously awaiting surgery in hospital, with husband Richard, finely depicted by Joe Mantegna, unable to say or do the right thing by her. On the other hand, probably the episode that worked least for me was that of Lorna – something didn’t ring true in the plot, nor did the character of her ex-husband Andrew (William Fichtner) seem authentic to me.

Especially fascinating (and challenging) is that each segment of 10 to 15 minutes has been shot in one continuous take giving the actors the opportunity to deliver their character’s emotional life unimpeded by the usual stop-and-start methods of movie-making. Each segment is little more than a vignette and has no real beginning or end but merely picks us up and puts us down in the middle of some drama in each character’s life. With only 18 days of shooting it is to the credit of all concerned that they have been able to create what feels like the real lives of real women. It is curious that the film, which was made in 2005, has languished on the shelves for so long as it has justly won or been nominated for nearly 20 awards at various festivals. Nine Lives exemplifies indie film-making of a high quality, with characters and narratives which engage us and reflect the drama of all our lives.

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