3 x 3

I had, on a few occasions, heard of this smaller independent movie made a few years back called The Nines. I'd really only heard the smallest taste of the plot, but it was enough to intrigue me: the movie unfolds as three short stories with minor points of intersection. Three actors feature in all the stories, each playing different roles in each segment.

In retrospect, I now know that I didn't have enough information to make an informed decision about whether to see this movie. What someone should have told me is that this movie has more than a little in common with Donnie Darko. If you liked that movie -- and a lot of people really do -- I wouldn't be surprised if you liked The Nines. If you're like me, and were underwhelmed by Donnie Darko... well, I think you can guess what my reaction was.

The opening act of the movie (that is, the first of the three stories) is actually quite interesting and pulls you in. It's a simple story about a television star who went on a binge and has now been sentenced to house arrest. But there are hints of things not quite right with the world, a taste of a "Twilight Zone"-esque mystery to be unearthed.

Then comes act two, a reality television show that follows around a struggling writer as he tries to get his own TV show on the air. And while we get the occasional connection to the earlier plot of the movie, the supernatural weirdness almost completely vanishes in this segment. What's more, this story, taken on its own, is just a lot less compelling than the first.

Finally comes the third act, and we jump the tracks. This story is actually the plot of the TV series pilot written by the creator we followed in act two, but presented as its own complete reality. And when it gets to where it's going, it's a bizarre explanation that unifies the entire film in a way that -- going back to that "are you a fan of Donnie Darko?" business -- you're either going to think is really cool, or will think, "what the hell?!" Put me in the latter camp.

The three actors that are the constants in this film are all very good: Ryan Reynolds, Melissa McCarthy, and Hope Davis. You'd certainly expect this if you'd seen much of Hope Davis' work; you're unlikely to know Melissa McCarthy from somewhere else; and you might be very surprised to hear it about Ryan Reynolds, given most of the films he's done. They all really display acting chops here. Each character feels like a genuinely different person, and none like a caricature.

Still, the film they're all servicing feels to me like a slow march from something intriguing to something simply weird for the sake of being weird. But at a C+, I suppose I did like it a bit better than Donnie Darko... so one more plug here. If you liked that, you might like this.