“Nine Lives” contains the stories of nine Los Angeles women told through flash-point moments using nine separate takes. Together, the tales don’t add up to much, but some of the pieces are sensitive and keenly perceptive, containing fine work by a stellar roster of actresses.
The movie could play just as well on the small screen, where it should find a long life. However, women of a certain age looking for an alternative to “In Her Shoes” could find “Nine Lives” rewarding. And if one particular segment loses its way, you know writer-director Rodrigo Garcia will be starting a new chapter in a matter of minutes.
Garcia, the son of novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez, has done this sort of thing before, in both his debut, “Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her,” and its follow-up, “Ten Tiny Love Stories.” There is some overlap in the stories here in “Nine Lives,” but, for the most part, it isn’t particularly significant. The commonality comes more with the types of events depicted – invariably, they are disappointments – and the way the women respond with strength and resilience.
Sandra (Elpidia Carrillo) finds herself in jail, trying to be a model citizen but bursting into a rage when she can’t connect with her visiting child. Diana (Robin Wright Penn) meets an old lover in a grocery store. Holly (Lisa Gay Hamilton) deals with an abusive past; Sonia (Holly Hunter) copes with an indifferent boyfriend.
A teen (Amanda Seyfried) tries to please her parents, who use her to communicate with each other. Lorna (Amy Brenneman) deals with her ex-husband at the funeral of the woman who replaced her. Ruth (Sissy Spacek) ponders adultery; Maggie (Glenn Close) and Camille (Kathy Baker) ponder mortality.
Some of the material veers into disease-of-the-week territory; other stories (namely Brenneman’s) are pointless. The best of the lot – Wright Penn having her life turned upside down, Hamilton teetering on the edge of oblivion while confronting the ghosts of her childhood – are powerful mini-dramas that leave you breathless.
** 1/2 | “Nine Lives”
R for language, brief sexual content, some disturbing images|1 hour, 55 minutes|SERIAL DRAMA|Written and directed by Rodrigo Garcia; photography by Xavier Perez Grobet; starring Holly Hunter, Sissy Spacek, Glenn Close and Robin Wright Penn|Opens today at the Chez Artiste.
