Nine Days 2021

I will honestly never understand people complaining about movies being slow, if such slowness is motivated by the atmosphere of the picture and it is not just a stylistic quirk by the director (like some moments in Sofia Coppola's Somewhere, let's say?).
And honestly, this wasn't even slow - if your point of reference is not Transformers or The Expendables.

This said, I really appreciated the idea and cinematography.
Something felt a little off all movie long tho, not quite sure what. Probably a combination of factors? Some cuts between the TVs and the house were a little too abrupt, not really letting you reach a connection with the "real" people, nor letting the being alive feeling build up properly.
I felt the emotional depth always staying one inch away from reaching its grasping point, a little behind, never quite fully diving into it. May it be cause in the house the emotions are not as strong? But letting the audience pass from immersing in TVs feelings, to then come back to Will's house would make the contrast even more striking, which should be the point.
I'm not quite sure about Winston Duke's portrayal. He felt right for the part, and the acting was not bad but his ventures out of his imposed restraint and sadness going just towards anger felt lacking. Like, not bursting out in frustration, showing a further layer of his hidden humanity, they felt a little forced, still restrained.
Not sure how I felt about Tony Hale. Out of place, both as a character and in his relationship with Will?
I get that the dinner scene was supposed to show how one can view our same world, but like.. wasn't there a more poignant way than the "disgusting stories" (great ending of the scene tho)?
The "face/off" scene was a great idea but, come on, not expanded at all? It was a great occasion to explore the characters or some philosophical point of view.
It was fine not choosing Emma, but there was no real lead up to it, no real explaining his decision if not as a preview of the finale and sort of Will's humanity redemption. But it seems like Emma's only purpose in the movie, which is a shame.

Zazie Beetz was spot on. The muffled surprise for the situation, the trying to understand and feel inside the situations to which she was asked questions, the human investigation into Will, the experimenting through Mike's last moments... great casting choice and great job on her part.
Bill Skarsgard was good but maybe not scripted in excessive depth? Like, playing the more impulsive one, but without many occasions to dive into such a psychology.

So.
In the end. Casting and story were interesting and with a great potential, but the script didn't live up to that. It could have been much more intimate and investigating what it means to be human, to live and feel. A Carnage or Mass approach could have been fascinating.

Nine Days is a hugely ambitious, extremely intelligent film about life in all its wonders and delights. It could be described as supernatural but it is truly impossible to categorize. The film begins with Will. He lives in an isolated house in the middle of a desert landscape. His house is littered with video tapes of various people and their lives. He has an entire room filled with old TVs that appear to be showing live coverage of several people. When one of his 'subjects' dies suddenly he swings into action. He needs to replace her on Earth and begins a process of interviews with various people. He tells each one of them that the process will take 'nine days'. I could delve more into the plot but the true delight of this superb film is discovering just what it is actually all about. In essence the film examines what it means to be alive and the choices you make on earth to be a good person. It swings from being very emotional to being very thought provoking. Winston Duke as Will is truly wonderful, with great supprt from Zazie Beetz, Tony Hale and Benedict Wong. This is the debut film from director Edson Oda and he has crafted a film of both mystery and illumination. In a world of cooker cutter films it is truly joyous to see a film of such originality.