Worshipping the devil (The Ninth Gate (DVD))

Member Name: sunmeilan

Product:	The Ninth Gate (DVD)
Date:	14/04/09 (170 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting story, Johnny Depp's in it

Disadvantages: Not Depp's best performance

Dean Corso is a ruthlessly ambitious rare book collector and seller, who will do anything to make money. Then he is hired by book collector Boris Balkan to hunt down the last remaining copies of a satanic manuscript, with the aim of then working out which of the copies is the authentic version. Corso soon realises that other people are after the copies and they will not rest until they have them. His hunt takes him to Europe, where he is shadowed by a woman who appears to be on his side, but then again, who knows? Strange, supernatural things are happening and Corso finds himself in over his head. Can he find the final copies? And when he has, will he realise what it all means?

Johnny Depp is one of the most versatile actors I can think of. He does comedy, horror, drama, musicals...and each time, he is outstanding. In The Ninth Gate, I think I've finally found a film where he didn't meet my expectations. Part of the problem, I think, is that Dean Corso is not a pleasant man. He is greedy, selfish, and, judging by his neat facial hair and glasses, is also quite vain. Depp plays the role well and, to be fair, I don't think that either Depp or Polanski, the director, intended the character to be liked by the viewer. However, I still struggled at times with the character. Some of Corso's lines seemed forced, even a little wooden, and it distracted me from the storyline quite considerably. By the end of the film, I was beginning to warm to the character, but is still wasn't enough to win me over completely.

Emmanuelle Seigner plays the woman who follows Depp. I think she was well-cast in the role. Visually, she is quite striking - the kind of face that makes you look and look again. Although it may sound strange when she was supposed to be in the background, this really suited the role because she seemed mysterious and almost other-worldly. As far as the acting went, she was perfectly convincing - it wasn't outstanding, by any extent, but it was more than adequate. Frank Langella (Boris Balkan) and Lena Olin (one of the book hunters) were also good in their roles, although their time on screen was brief.

It is quite hard to fit this film into one particular genre. It is a mixture of a thriller, a horror and, perhaps to a lesser extent, a fantasy with some supernatural bits thrown in for good measure. My initial thoughts on watching the film were that it reminded me very much of The Da Vinci Code, and that feeling is still with me now. This is basically because Corso runs from one clue to the next, with hapless female in tow, until he can piece all the jigsaw bits together to come up with the final 'code' or rite of passage. That will no doubt put some people off right from the start. Actually, I thought the storyline was put together quite well; nevertheless, there is something missing that stops it from being an excellent film. It should have been better than it was, particularly in the hands of Roman Polanski.

The ending was decidedly disappointing; for me, it felt as though the conclusion to the story was rushed just to end the film. As the film is over two hours long anyway, it is perhaps just as well it wasn't drawn out for any longer. Still, I can't help but feel a good chunk could have been edited out from the middle of the film, allowing the end to be more polished.

Visually, there is not much to fault here. There are some beautiful locations chosen for the setting of the film, particularly for the scenes in and around a ruined castle towards the end. Much of the movie was filmed in France, Spain and Portugal, and there was obviously a lot of effort put in to choose the best shots. There are some special effects too. One woman dies horribly, and we are treated to a full shot of her protruding tongue and grimacing face. It wasn't all that realistic though, so I found it more funny than horrific. Apart from that, there is some violence and sex, although nothing too graphic, but definitely worthy of the 15 rating in the UK. And of course, references to the devil may offend some.

There are a number of special features with the DVD, although none that are all that impressive for a film that was only released in 1999. There is a very brief featurette with appearances from Roman Polanski and Johnny Depp - I usually find DVD extras boring, but this was way too short to get bored. Then there are cast and crew biographies, a trailer, production notes and a gallery of satanic drawings. Finally, under audio options, there is an audio commentary with Roman Polanski, which I didn't listen to - they always bore me silly - and an isolated music score. I must admit the music didn't have much of an impact on me during the film, but it is very beautiful, orchestral-style, music, that is worth listening out for.

On the whole, I thought this film was good, but nothing special. It is the type of film that could be watched again and again though - I've seen it twice now, and I did see different things in it both times. I think it will most appeal to those who like The Da Vinci Code and related stories, but don't immediately write it off just because you don't. For fans of Johnny Depp - I didn't think he was as good as he has been elsewhere, but that may just be me, so it is definitely worth a look. Three stars out of five.

The DVD is available from play.com for £5.99.

Classification: 15

Running time: 133 minutes

Summary: Depp with a serious face