A Month of Horror: The Ninth Gate

The Ninth Gate:

I guess with the stories in the news the last few days, I thought I would choose a movie directed by Roman Polanski so that I could try and see why the idiots of Hollywood are making such a big deal about forgiving a man that raped and sodomized a 13 year old girl. I mean, the guy may be talented, but really?

Polanski is best known for movies like "Rosemary's Baby" and "Chinatown", the former thrusting Polanski into the limelight, and the latter rewarding him with Oscar fame. This movie however has only one thing going for it, Johnny Depp. While watching this movie, the uneven pace really kept urging me to take the movie out and disregard this entry into the Polanski catalog, but something kept me tuned in and it wasn't until the movie "jumped the pentagram" before I figured out the only redeeming factor in this movie was Johnny Depp. His performance was the only grounded work in the entire film.

I think that either Depp was the only one in the movie that knew how to act, or he was the only one in the movie that did not see eye-to-eye with Polanski's over-the-top visions for this movie. If only everyone else was on the same page as Depp was in this movie, it could have ended up being as good as some of Polanski's "A" material, but even with the strength of Depp's performance, this movie has trouble qualifying for Polanski's "C" team. That being said, a "C" Polanski film is still better than most directors' "A" games.

As bad as this movie really is once you take a step back and look at it objectively, during the viewing of the movie you cannot help but be a little sucked in by the tone and pace (Even though a lot of the pacing is uneven and irritating, just as it picks up, it drops off and leaves you hanging). I mean, what other movie could you see so many scenes of the main character looking through the Yellow Pages and still be sitting on the edge of your seat. When the pace is fast, the movie seems to work; the problem is that the pace is not very fast for very long at any stretch.

The absurdity is at its worst when one of the climactic scenes only reminds you of Rosemary's Baby. I guess if you haven't seen that classic, it may work, but since I have it was more of a distraction than anything else. In the end, Polanski's over-the-top direction seems to overcome Depp's great acting, pulling Depp over the edge of the ravine that Polanski had been tip-toeing on the entire movie. Let me just say this, if the court of public opinion has anything to say as to whether his talent is good enough to clear him of a decades old rape conviction, then keep them away from this movie.

Verdict:

Movie - Guilty Pleasure

Polanksi - Go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200