Reviewing short films is a tough task merely because there isn't a tremendous amount of film to review. So imagine the daunting task of reviewing a film like Nine Lives which is broken up into 9 different stories, each about 12 minutes long. In many ways this is an excellent example of a Day-in-the-life. It is a snapshot of 9 very different stories.

Story
There is no one story. Each of the 9 stories is almost completely independent of each other, save for a few of the players making appearances in other stories. So what are these stories about? A woman in prison gets hysterical when she she is allowed her monthly visitation with her daughter behind the glass wall and the phone doesn't work. A pregnant woman meets an ex-flame in a grocery store. A woman returns home to her family with serious issues with her father. A girl struggles in dealing with her disabled father and mother who questions her own ability to cope. A woman gets cold feet at a motel just before she's to have an extra-marital affair. A deaf man wants to have an affair with his ex-lover while at the funeral of his current wife. A woman has understandable temper issues just before she has breast cancer surgery. A couple discuss very private issues with their seemingly uncomfortable friends. A young girl and her mother have a picnic at a cemetery. This last one has the most stunningly poignant ending I've seen in along time.

The cast is an excellent one, featuring Glenn Close, Sissy Spacek, Joe Mantegna, Aidan Quinn, Dakota Fanning, Robin Wright Penn, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Holly Hunter, Amy Brenneman, Kathy Baker and many others. Lest you think this is a chick flick, it is not. While all the stories are primarily about women, all of their stories involve men in various roles: husbands, lovers, guards, ex-flames, strangers. The cast is fantastic and the one-day shooting schedule for each made sure they got some "indie cred" for their portfolio. All in all, excellent performances.

So what is the point? Stories that intertwine are nothing new, especially in the Independent film world. Pulp Fiction, Shortcuts, and even Crash are good examples of films that tried to intertwine their stories. But when Crash did it, it became a gimmick and called attention to itself and became a bit too convenient. Where Crash took a very heavy-handed approach to this narrative style, Nine Lives has a much lighter touch. Instead of all of the stories intermingling, a character from another vignette might make a subtle appearance as a nurse, or a friend, or may not appear at all. Usually someone inconsequential to that story's characters. Or someone very important. But it's never the same or predictable. But enough that it makes you think back to their story and gives another little sliver of character and depth.

The director, Rodrigo Garcia, is not trying to impress any great virtue or message on the audience. As he describes it in one of the interviews on the DVD, it is like looking through the window of a stranger's house for 12 minutes. You don't know what you're going to see or who these people really are. But you might catch some conflict and fleeting characterizations. It's amazing what we can pick up about the human condition in 12 minutes. We see jealousy and rage. We see lust and pain. We see heartache and hope. Garcia is trying to give us an brief glimpse of these emotions and just like looking through the window of a house, the blinds could be pulled at any moment and your voyeurism would end.

Each of the stories is done in one long take. There are no edits. This was a risky move and it was brilliantly executed, simply because I didn't notice until the 3rd story. The technique does not call attention to itself. It is subtle and never becomes a gimmick. Many audience members might see the whole film and never notice. But there is a point to this (other than to shooting the entire film in 18 days). We view life in long continuous takes. We don't get to edit to closeup. There is no establishing shot. So going along with the glimpse of life that Garcia is trying show, each glimpse is done as you would see it, in one long take.

DVD Extras
On the disc, we have the requisite preview of coming attractions. I always enjoy the trailers on independent films because they are always trailers for other independent films.

Also included are some making-of featurettes. While most of the featurettes on DVDs amount to little more than Electronic Press Kits, the mini-documentaries on this disc are quite good. The cast is very upfront about the positives and negatives of shooting in one long take all day, working in a cemetery and the allure of making small 12-minute movies.

Rounding off the disc is a video taped presentation of a round-table discussion at the Lee Strasberg Film Institute. This isn't the entire Q&A and a lot of it is back-patting. But the cast and director are on their game and very eager to answer questions and discuss their film. They never take it too seriously and seem to be having a lot of fun. A lot of the info is repeated from the featurettes, but there is some interesting info as well.

Conclusion
A very interesting film, Nine Lives doesn't try to be anything more than it is, nine brief glimpses that put together give a full picture of the human condition.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older