A Review of Nine Days by Nick Olszyk
Distribution Service: Theatrical
Year: 2021
MPAA Rating, R
USCCB Rating, Not Rated at the Time of this Review
Reel Rating, Three Reels
Most films
contain a standard three act/eight sequence structure that is easy discern and
even easier to digest. Yet occasionally filmmakers get brave and produce a
picture that doesn’t give easy answers but instead allows the audience to sit
with the questions and gives permission to explore the world rather than be
guided by a forceful hand. Terrance Malick’s The Tree of Life is
probably the best example and the only film I’ve ever seen where the characters
are viewed from God’s perspective. While Nine Days is far more
traditional in its narrative, it also attempts to explore some of the great
mysteries of the life beyond. Mostly, it succeeds.
Will
(Black Panther’s Wilson Duke in his first starring role) is a mid-level
celestial bureaucrat assigned to monitor the lives of roughly a dozen humans as
they live out their earthly existence. He does this through a series of 80s era
television screens and records their best moments in a vast library of VHS
tapes. As the film begins, his favorite subject Amanda has just died in car
accident, and Will assembles a group of roughly ten candidates to fill her
vacancy. He will put these men and women through a nine-day trial period before
whittling down his decision to a single soul. This “spiritual boot camp” involves
interviews, ethical conundrums, and observing human in the field. As the week
progresses, the film focuses on four candidates. There’s Alexander (Tony Hale)
the jokester who is endless entertained of oddness of humanity, Mike (David
Rysdahl) the dreamer who loves beaches and sunsets, Kane (Bill Skarsgård) the
pragmatist who wants to right all the wrongs he sees, and Emma (Zazie Beetz)
the rebel who questions everything Will does. They all have strengths and weaknesses,
but only one will get a chance to live.
Right
from the start there are so, so many questions about how this universe operates,
but the film moves quickly, giving only minimal information. The beings in Nine
Days don’t directly correlate to established Judeo-Christian revelation but
with more general entities like the anthropomorphic forms in Soul.
These beings have virtually no control over the humans they observe, which
makes their task of choosing who “passes muster” more important. Will’s
criteria isn’t made known at first, but Emma, through her constant prodding, is
able to draw some glimpses. Most of Will’s fellow colleges are transcendent,
yet Will once has a life on Earth, which plays a role in his discernment. This
approach, while sometimes frustrating, helps the narrative. The audience is
always eager for more info and quickly becomes invested in these characters,
partially because it’s never made explicit what happens to candidates who fail.
The
pre-mortal existence has been a favorite question of theologians for centuries.
Pantheistic religions have always taught the soul reincarnates; thus, our personality
quirks came from previously existences. The theistic traditions are mute on the
subject, although it plays a significant role in Mormon cosmology. The
soul is created at the moment of conception, and our personality develops
though our experiences and choices. While God is omniscient, we have the freewill
to choose our path. Thus, this “trial period” occurs through the course of our
whole lives, not before.
Will’s
decision ultimately comes down to Emma or Kane. Kane is brave, honest, and
forthcoming – the obvious choice. Yet Will feels more attached to Emma, who more
closely resemble his own personality – and Amanda’s. That’s the problem. It
becomes apparent that Amanda’s accident was an intentional suicide. Will keeps
going over the tapes to find a warning sign, but there is none. He blames
himself for picking her and won’t make the same “mistake” again. Emma is too
uncertain, too impulsive. She might do the same.
No
life is a mistake. While Amanda’s choice was tragic, she still deserved her
shot. She was loved by God, who doesn’t predetermine destines but allows all
people “to grow together until the Harvest,” something Will seems to understand
by the end. Nine Days isn’t a great theological treatise but a good
theological trampoline, launching its audience into the realm of spiritual
seeking, a realm few seem to want to investigate but all desperately need.
This article first appeared in Catholic World Report on August 11th, 2021.
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