Nine Lives (2005)
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75% of critics liked it
(84 reviews) -
53% of users liked it
(21,368 ratings)
Filmmaker Rodrigo García takes an unusual look into the lives of nine different women in this episodic drama. Each of the film's nine sequences has been staged as a single shot, using the Steadicam system to allow the camera to follow the action fluidly and without cuts. In these short episodes… More Filmmaker Rodrigo García takes an unusual look into the lives of nine different women in this episodic drama. Each of the film's nine sequences has been staged as a single shot, using the Steadicam system to allow the camera to follow the action fluidly and without cuts. In these short episodes (lasting between ten and 14 minutes), Holly (Lisa Gay Hamilton) has a brief moment of reverie while confronting the specters of her past in her old neighborhood. Maggie (Glenn Close) escorts her young daughter Maria (Dakota Fanning) to a cemetery as they visit the graves of their family members. Ruth (Sissy Spacek) is a married woman contemplating an affair while visiting Henry (Aidan Quinn) in his hotel room. Diana (Robin Wright Penn) unexpectedly runs into an old boyfriend, Damian (Jason Isaacs), while shopping for groceries. Camilla (Kathy Baker) is a hospital patient awaiting surgery for cancer. Samantha (Amanda Seyfried) is a teenage girl who helps look after her handicapped father Larry (Ian McShane). Sandra (Elpidia Carrillo) is a female prison inmate who is expecting a visit from her children. Sonia (Holly Hunter) lashes out at her boyfriend Martin (Stephen Dillane) when she finds out he's been cheating on her. And Lorna (Amy Brenneman) has an unexpectedly moving encounter with her ex-husband Andrew (William Fichtner) as she pays her respects to his second wife, who has just passed away. Nine Lives premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Rodrigo García
- Written By
- Rodrigo García
- Genres
- Drama
- In Theaters
- Oct 14, 2005 Wide
- On DVD
- Feb 14, 2006
- Studio
- Magnolia Pictures
Critic Reviews
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David Germain, Associated Press
The stories are sketches, often without resolution, and while individual segments succeed admirably, taken together the portraits are a fitful match.
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Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Some parts are stronger than others, but as a fleshed-out artistic vision, Nine Lives works remarkably well.
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Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
Nine Lives is an elegant film of quick, tour-de-force acting turns, a simple actor's gesture that tells you more than four pages of dialogue, a movie that demands concentration but that rewards the viewer willing to pay attention.
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Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
[Garcia] leaves you thinking deeply about these people. And leaves you wanting more.
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Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
Composed of nine short films, each starring some of the best female actors working, though many of them aren't working enough.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Cast
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Kathy Baker
as Camille
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Amy Brenneman
as Lorna
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Elpidia Carrillo
as Sandra
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Glenn Close
as Maggie
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Stephen Dillane
as Martin
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Dakota Fanning
as Maria
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William Fichtner
as Andrew
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Lisa Gay Hamilton
as Holly
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Holly Hunter
as Sonia
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Jason Isaacs
as Damian
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Joe Mantegna
as Richard
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Ian McShane
as Larry
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Molly Parker
as Lisa
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Mary Kay Place
as Alma
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Sydney Tamiia Poitier
as Vanessa
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Aidan Quinn
as Henry
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Miguel Sandoval
as Ron
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Amanda Seyfried
as Samantha
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Sissy Spacek
as Ruth
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Robin Wright
as Diana





