By: Andrew Wing

Nine Days is a 2020 American supernatural drama film written and directed by Edson Oda. It stars Winston Duke (Black Panther, Us), Zazie Beetz (Atlanta, Deadpool 2), Benedict Wong (Marco Polo, Doctor Strange), Tony Hale (Arrested Development, Veep), Bill Skarsgård (It, It Chapter Two), David Rysdahl, and Arianna Ortiz. Spike Jonze (acclaimed director of Being John Malkovich and Her) also serves as an executive producer.

In the film, a reclusive man (Duke) conducts a series of interviews with five unborn human souls (Beetz, Hale, Skarsgård, Rysdahl, Ortiz) to determine which one can be given life on Earth.

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2020, and was theatrically released by Sony Pictures Classics in the United States on July 30, 2021.

THE GOOD

There have been numerous movies that I have waited a long time to see, but I think Nine Days might take the cake. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival over two years ago before being released in the United States last July, but it, unfortunately, didn’t hit any theaters in Maine. It actually wasn’t until last month when it came to STARZ that I was able to record it on the DVR. With that said, I got some free time last night and I finally watched it. During all that waiting though, it felt like every week I was hearing how amazing of a film it was, so let’s not waste any more time because it is officially time to find out if Nine Days was the masterpiece people have been proclaiming it to be!

I’ll get right into it, Edson Oda absolutely killed it here. His direction was ridiculous and the screenplay was phenomenally well done. First, with the direction, all his decisions were spot on. He presented this weird concept about as good as you can and he didn’t miss a beat. It was super clever, wholly original, and it had a great ending. From his decision to have the film be dimly lit almost for the entirety of it to how long he held the characters’ faces in the more dramatic moments, I was blown away by his directorial debut and I cannot wait to see what he does next. Now his direction was as good as I just made it sound, but the screenplay was on another level.

When it comes to this screenplay, I just don’t know if it gets much better than this. The film literally picks you up and drops you way outside of the perspective that you’re normally able to look at your life in, and you’re given a completely different perspective. It just makes you appreciate your life and the things that you get to do as a human being on Earth, and for that, I thank Edson Oda. Also, it always lined up with the situation that the character is put in. All of the character development was perfect and there were so many beautiful moments in the script, especially in one scene where he allows the souls to recreate their favorite memory. It was truly one of the most emotionally powerful movies I’ve seen in some time in terms of how often it got to me and that’s a tremendous testament to the writing. All in all, I am just flabbergasted at how Oda didn’t receive a Best Original Screenplay nomination back at the 93rd Academy Awards because this script is a masterpiece.

Now I don’t want to take anything away from Oda’s direction and writing, but I mean he was given the dream team with this cast. No joke, all of the performances here were arguably career-best performances for all of them, but Winston Duke was the best of the bunch. He plays the man who determines which one of the five unborn souls is granted life on Earth and surprisingly, his character has a really negative outlook on life. The film just wouldn't have been the same if his character wasn’t played perfectly but he was and his backstory carried the film. Looking back at who got nominated for Best Actor a couple of years ago, I really can’t comprehend how Duke didn’t get nominated. He literally has a scene at the end of the film that will likely stand the test of time and be regarded as a famous movie moment. I mean I don’t know if I’d say his performance was better than Anthony Hopkins’s award-winning performance in The Father, but it was a great performance that was indeed Oscar-worthy.

Nobody was better than Duke here, but boy there was a couple who came real close. First with Zazie Beetz. Speaking of winning Oscars, you can pretty much pencil it in that she will at least be nominated for one in the very near future. She is unbelievable in everything she is and it is basically impossible not to fall in love with her character in this. Next with Bill Skarsgård, who I am a massive fan of. I don’t know how or why I like him so much considering he made me unable to sleep for weeks after playing Pennywise the clown in the It movies, but it’s undeniable that he is on the come up in the industry. I loved his character here and you could say I was cheering for his character to make it to day nine thanks to how well he played them. And lastly, Winston Duke might have had the best performance, but Tony Hale certainly had the most surprising/impressive performance. He was perfectly cast as the film’s goofball, but out of nowhere, Hale showed how talented of an actor he is in undoubtedly one of the film’s most dramatic moments.

In conclusion, all of the technical elements here were flawless. The score from Antonio Pinto was amazing and after this, I just want to listen to violin concertos for days on end. The look of this film was simply marvelous. From Wyatt Garfield’s cinematography to the otherworldly production design, I was in awe at how visually beautiful this film was. I know I said I was flabbergasted at how Oda didn’t receive a Best Original Screenplay nom, but what I think was more of a snub than even that was how this film didn’t get a Best Editing nomination. It was edited by Michael Taylor and Jeff Betancourt and the way they put this film together was fascinating. The way they intertwined all of the television footage that represented humans on Earth’s point of view with the main storyline was unfathomable and I don’t know if I’ve seen a film more uniquely edited than this.

THE BAD

If you still haven’t guessed that I loved everything about this film, then you clearly haven’t read a single word I wrote. But seriously, this is a top-tier movie that I have a hard time seeing anybody dislike. However, despite how much I enjoyed it, the film is super different and I’m sure people will be confused or lost at times throughout it. The biggest thing that I can see confusing people was just the fact that the souls are people that have personalities and everything. But there’s one caveat that doesn’t make them truly human and that is that they don’t feel as deeply and as much. At the end of the day though, I liked the way they chose to represent people as souls because they captured the essence of what a person really is in my mind.

I know I mentioned earlier that I loved the ending, but another small quip with this movie is that the ending is kind of obvious. Maybe it just stuck out more that I knew what was going to happen because it’s a movie that feels long so I had more time to think, but I never felt like this movie was ahead of me. I always understood the trajectory of what was going to happen and that doesn’t take anything away from this being a great film, but maybe a less expected ending that was as good would’ve made this an even stronger film.

THE VERDICT

Thanks to one of the most knockout feature directorial debuts from Edson Oda, Nine Days is an ethereal and evocative film about the meaning of life that will give viewers an unforgettable deeply felt experience. Oda’s script is full of so many beautiful moments that will just make you appreciate life. It is taken to the upper echelon behind dynamite performances from the entire cast, but it is elevated even higher because of a phenomenal performance from Winston Duke that should’ve earned him his first Oscar nomination.

If you have the chance, go check this out. It is super universal and anybody can watch this movie and take away something pretty substantial from it.