Roman Polanski is an uneven filmmaker. Somtimes, he produces a great, original story that captures the imagination, as in The Pianist (2002) and Chinatown (1974). Other times, he manages to create creepy psychological drama, as in Rosemary's Baby (1968) and The Tenant (1976). In fact, Chinatown continues to be one of my favorite newer film noirs, and Rosemary's Baby is the ultimate example of how to combine horror and humor in what is ultimately a scary movie.
But sometimes Polanski's films are just okay, as in Frantic (1988) and downright bad, as in Pirates (1986). The Ninth Gate (1999) is one of those okay movies.
It's based on the book by Arturo Perez-Reverte called The Club Dumas, which was recommended to me by my friend J. Mark Bertrand. I loved it. The book was about a conniving book dealer who is researching two books at once--a lost version of a chapter by Dumas and another book called The Ninth Gate. What made Perez-Reverte's version great is the way that the main character, Corso, gets mixed up in both of them. By the end, it's almost as if he can't distinguish fantasy and reality, and so he ends up falling into several strange situations dealing with satanism and Dumas lovers. And they look a lot alike, too.
But Polanski removes all of the Dumas stuff and makes the movie solely about Corso and The Ninth Gate, a book supposedly ghostwritten by Lucifer. What he creates here is a creepy movie with a great character. Johnny Depp plays Corso as laid-back yet unscrup
ulous, and his acting fits the character superbly. For the first hour, the tension is taut and building. And then you learn what is actually happening, or at least what may be happening. And it goes downhill from there.
ulous, and his acting fits the character superbly. For the first hour, the tension is taut and building. And then you learn what is actually happening, or at least what may be happening. And it goes downhill from there.Sure the ending is left open, but it's not necessarily a good thing. Sure there is psychological drama. But by the end, I don't care anymore. The plot has become so ridiculous that I don't care about the characters or whether they manage to actually conjure the devil. And the movie incidentally features one of the stupidest sex scenes on film.
So all in all, it's an okay movie.
Grade for The Ninth Gate: 5
1 comment:
I'm glad you liked The Club Dumas. I couldn't believe how disappointing the adaptation was. The Ninth Gate leaves out what's best in the book. A Club Dumas with no Dumas.
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