 You know the feeling when you walk out of a theatre saying to your friends "gee, the trailer made this look so good!!"? This film doesn't conclude, it just stops. Why this happens is anybody's guess -- the production company ran out of money, Johnny Depp went on a drunken rampage and slugged the cameraman, or Roman Polanski got bored and had to go out for a smoke. It's a frustrating mystery. Polanski appears to lose control of the story as well as the ability to end the thing in any remotely sensible fashion.
Johnny Depp is always interesting to watch, but other than the added subtleties the plot has basically been seen before. The movie makes a pretty thin gruel out of these ingredients. The only saving graces as this film plods along are Depp's appeal and Polanski's malicious humour. The funny stuff isn't about making jokes. It's about making fun of horror conventions. (Note: Boo!)
Conclusion: Watching The Ninth Gate is like going on a long hike without a map: the trip is interesting but full of annoyances, you eventually realize that you don't know where you're going, it takes forever; and when you finally reach the end, it wasn't quite worth the trip. |
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