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Nine Lives
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 25 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 15 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by: Rodrigo García
Directed by: Rodrigo García
Release Date:
Theatrical: October 14, 2005
DVD: February 14, 2006
Running Time: 115 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for language, brief sexual content and some disturbing images
Starring Kathy Baker, Amy Brenneman, Elpidia Carrillo, Glenn Close, Stephen Dillane, Dakota Fanning, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Holly Hunter, Robin Wright Penn, and Sissy Spacek
Nine Lives is a moving exploration of the individual experiences of nine women as told through nine single unbroken takes. As characters from one story reappear in supporting roles in others, Rodrigo Garcia interweaves a grand tapestry of universal resonance that hinges on performances from an incredible ensemble. (Magnolia Pictures)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
This beautifully sculpted poetic naturalism has more in common with the expressive use of words in the great screenplays of '40s and '50s than with modern movies.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
What could have been a parlor game becomes a surprisingly rich sketchbook, boosted by the work of fine actors.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
Together, however, they add up to a film that may be the closest movies have come to the cinematic equivalent of a collection of Chekhov short stories.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
That rare episode film that actually accrues a cumulative power and doesn't merely proceed from one segment to the next.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Rory L. Aronsky
Garcia is a thoughtful filmmaker not only by the group of actors he has gathered, but in remembering that there has been and will be people watching his movie.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
A bold film both in its storytelling strategies and its filmmaking logistics.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
The scenes are so dramatically cogent the characters' lives seem to stretch far beyond the concluding blackouts.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin
As a film composed entirely of nine continuous long takes, Nine Lives certainly qualifies as unique. But what makes it rarer and more auspicious is that it offers such a rich bounty of great roles for middle-aged women.
Read Full Review >The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann
García wanted to paint a canvas of nine elements, rather than one large element; and, though only a few of the vignettes are related, the film leaves us with a sense of wholeness, not of stunt.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
In refusing to pigeonhole its characters, Nine Lives is less like those L.A. road-rage melodramas "Short Cuts" and "Crash" than those all-of-us-are-interconnected dramas "Amores Perros" and "21 Grams."
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
A movie like this, with the appearance of new characters and situations, focuses us; we watch more intently, because it is important what happens.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
A disturbingly frank look at people and relationships in contemporary Los Angeles and a thrilling dramatic showcase for a brilliant cast.
Read Full Review >Variety Scott Foundas
Though the episodic structure results in a whole not quite equal to some of its parts, pic is an unusually tender, perceptive character study buoyed by stellar performances from a who's who of talented (and many underused) actresses.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Ann Hornaday
The beauty of Nine Lives is that its occasionally overlapping stories feel entirely unforced; Garcia's is a filmmaking style of rare lyricism, compassion and discretion.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones
One wishes perhaps for a more thumping conclusion, but what we have instead is something perfectly in the spirit of the piece, reaffirming that life, big and little, happens in 10 minutes chunks.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jack Mathews
A couple of the stories don't quite accomplish what Rodrigo intends, but most are poignant, disturbing, and superbly acted.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
Not all of Nine Lives clicks, but at its best it finds an inarticulate sisterly solace that makes you want to see what this director could do with one life per film.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein
An emotionally satisfying example of a genre whose sketchiness can be off-putting.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
The snaky cinematography pulls you through even when the writing doesn't, and the best performances keep you hoping that you'll feel the next one or the one after that just as powerfully.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson
Five or six lives might have felt more concise; nine test the patience a bit, though it is impressive that each is composed of a single Steadicam shot.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
The uneven Nine Lives has an impressive cast, but the best section features the great Mexican actress Elpidio Carrillo as a prison inmate kept from her child.
Read Full Review >New York Post Kyle Smith
Nine Lives hands the viewer a lot of work -- learning a whole new set of characters every few minutes -- for a disappointing wage. The bad stories waste your time, and the good ones leave you unsatisfied.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Laura Sinagra
In yet another roundelay that, like "Crash" and "Heights," follows the "Short Cuts" template of cosmic interconnection.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
Movies like this usually have something interesting to say about the human condition, but not Nine Lives. It makes an insufferably obvious observation: we live boring lives, shit happens, and we die.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 6.8 (out of 10) based on 15 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Shauna gave it a1:
Terrible! what was the point of this? the last story was the worst. i thought it was alright, thinking that everything was going to be connected in the end but no! nothing! terrible movie. I watched it because the other user comments made it seem like anyone who likes art movies would like it, but i love art movies and this sucked!
Awal K. gave it a5:
Average. While certain stories stand out - Robin Wright at the supermarket and Glenn Close at the cemetary - most are rather boring. I thought the nine different stories should have been more connected and weaved together. I don't expect 'Crash' or 'Pulp Fiction' but this movie seemed rather disjointed. The cinematography (each vignette is one long, continuous shot) is extraordianry, though.
Bill gave it a9:
An exceptional, subtle film. It's an adult version of "Crash." Whereas "Crash" is mawkish, manipulative, ham-handed and insultingly implausible, "Nine Lives" exudes reality and humanity. It compliments the viewer by gently implying its most powerful messages, especially in the final scene. Glenn Close isn't visiting her husband's grave, as nearly every media reviewer seems to believe.
Scott M. gave it an8:
Robin Wright Penn's scene took my breath away.
Rick gave it a2:
This film had quality moments, but they were all disjointed. There was no continuity or relevance between segments and none of them really made a point. Consequently it was excruciatingly boring.
D. Brunner gave it a5:
Some of the stories were impacting and certainly well-acted, but the film as a whole didn't hold together.
Rich K. gave it a6:
It's nice to see a movie shot like like a play -- each vignette is one continuous shot. But in this play the damaged female characters seem to be living in a play, some other play that we're not privy to. In 2006 a film of distant, unaccountable dreamworlds is not a vision, it's claustrophobia.
