On The Highway To Hell (The Ninth Gate (DVD))

Member Name: Andy.mack

Product:	The Ninth Gate (DVD)
Date:	14/09/05 (354 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good Polanski thriller, moments of suspense and a good performance from Johnny Depp

Disadvantages: A little drawn out and overly long, a few massive plot holes that could have made it better

Having experienced the dark world of Roman Polanski for the first time a couple of years ago on a friend's recommendation I didn't hesitate when I saw one of his more recent offerings, The Ninth Gate, in HMV. My first taste of Polanski was the excellent Rosemary's Baby and so I was quite looking forward to seeing his latest dance with the devil. Whether the Ninth Gate would be a film I'd enjoy as much as the later was still up in the air but add Johnny Depp into the mix and I was quite looking forward to seeing what the end result would be.

Depp plays Dean Corso a New York book dealer who will go to any lengths to locate the books his clients are after. Quite a shady character he is hired by a local collector to locate the three remaining copies of a book called "The Nine Gates Of The Kingdom Of Shadows". The book is alleged to have been co written by the Devil himself and of the three remaining copies only one is believed to be an original. Now Depp must set out to verify which copy is real and which is a forgery. Along the way however he too gets drawn to the books power as he attempts to verify one copy.

Like other Polanski films The Ninth Gate certainly is incredibly dark. The subject matter of course adds to this but his filming methods and use of music to set the scene really gave the film quite a dark feeling. This isn't a horror film, although it does touch on a much darker subject, it is largely a dark thriller. This is the kind of thing Polanski is good at and although the film is nowhere near as good or as griping as Rosemary's Baby it is still incredibly intriguing.

It's a skill Polanski seems to have mastered that he knows exactly what is needed to give the film that suspenseful edge. His use of lighting really reflects the kind of mood he is trying to set within the movie. Coupled with that he utilises a few interesting camera angles that add a little more suspense to certain moments. There is one scene in particular where Depp has just left an old country house and the stand off between him, a guy out of a car and the girl on the motorbike is the kind of scene that really grips you within the story. It's at these moments as well that he really uses the right music to add a bit of tension to the film as well and it works quite well.

Of course as much praise as there is for Polanski and this movie there is an equal amount of criticism. I felt that the story was a little bit too drawn out and could maybe have done with being about 20 minutes shorter than its 2 hours 12 running time. Despite being interesting there were a few scenes that seemed to be dragged out a little and perhaps the movie would have been more compelling had it been a little shorter. The lack of any real explanation as to the presence of a few characters let the film down slightly as well. There were two characters who were never really introduced and one in particular who appeared from nowhere and did very little but always seemed to be there.

On the whole though the casting was pretty well done. Johnny Depp of course was the big name star and he certainly didn't disappoint. He looked the part with a rather strange goatee beard and a quite a spooky look. His acting was of its usual high standard and this sort of role really seems to suit it him quite well. He seemed to have a real connection with other members of the cast, especially Emmanuelle Seigner who played on of the mysterious characters. Her performance like Depp's was solid, however her character should probably have been explained a little better rather than simply being a bit of an enigma.

I felt that Frank Langella's performance as Boris Balkan was really split in two. At the start whilst hiring Corso he seemed quite a powerful character who would play a huge part in the film. As the film wore on though. Despite the odd phonecall he seems to be very much in the background and it means when we do see him again he appears to have lost that effect and feeling that surrounded the character at the start. For the most part thought the cast were quite good and the character development of a few characters was really good, which balanced out the other characters that just seemed to appear.

Overall this isn't Polanski at his best. There are glimpses of his best work within the film but for all the positives in the film there are an equal number of negatives. This is a genre he knows how to work, but with this movie I felt that he tried to make it just a little bit too long. It is a decent Thriller and if you enjoy a film with a darker tint to it then I would suggest this is a good film to watch. It does give the feeling of being a once and once only viewing experience but for fans of the genre it is enjoyable. If you liked Rosemary's Baby chances are you'll like this, if you didn't then I'd suggest leaving this one on the shop shelf.

Amazon.co.uk: £5.97
Amazon Marketplace: £3.80

Summary: A decent thriller, with a very dark feel to it