 | The Ninth Gate Starring: Johnny Depp, Frank Langella, Lena Olin, and Emmanuelle Siegner |
Another Satan film? No, not really. Polanski's "The Ninth Gate" is really a detective/mystery story. Johnny Depp plays Dean Corso, an unscrupulous yet brilliant book expert dealing in rare books. When Corso is asked by the famous collector of Satanic books, Boris Balkan (Frank Langella), to authenticate a very rare book supposedly dictated by The Prince of Darkness himself, Corso begins his odyssey. Motivated by Balkan's rather large remuneration, Corso's journey takes him to France, Spain and Portugal. As the plot unfolds, people die, Corso's interest becomes obsessive and the intrigue heightens. The ending is a big disappointment but 90 per cent of the fun is getting there. Depp pulls off a great performance as the somewhat sleazy Corso, Langella makes a terrific villain, and Olin and Siegner make great contributions to the mystery. The film is well directed with crisp, moody photography, exceptionally good performances and attains a good Euro feel. Wojciech Kilar's haunting score also adds to the dark mysterious look of the film. I remain puzzled by the abrupt ending which leaves the viewer totally flat. I do not object to films that leave the viewer with the opportunity to work through a puzzle, a la Kubrick, but Polanski leaves us with nothing to work with. Either he tried for a profound metaphysical ending that flopped or the producers announced, "We're out of money! Wrap it up!" I believe the latter scenario is the correct assumption. While this is certainly no "Chinatown", I would recommend the film. Harry Cohn, studio chief of Columbia Pictures, once said after viewing Orson Welles, "Lady from Shanghai", "I'll give anyone a hundred bucks if you can tell me what the hell this picture is about!" I don't have a hundred bucks but if anyone has a clue on "The Ninth Gate", I would love to hear their theory. Like "Lady From Shanghai", "The Ninth Gate" remains very watchable. Polanski is still a formidable filmmaker. |