The Ninth Gate

The Ninth Gate follows book dealer/investigator Dean Corso (Johnny Depp) as he agrees to authenticate a rare text for a shifty client (Frank Langella’s Boris Balkan), with the film subsequently detailing Dean’s initial efforts at tracking down the book’s other two owners and, eventually, avoiding the advances of increasingly sinister forces. Filmmaker Roman Polanski has infused The Ninth Gate with a decidedly (and exceedingly) deliberate pace that does, at the outset, prevent the viewer from wholeheartedly embracing the material, with the hands-off atmosphere slowly-but-surely alleviated by Depp’s engaging work and Polanski’s unabashedly theatrical directorial choices. The progressively compelling vibe is heightened by the periodic inclusion of shock-twinged interludes (eg Corso is attacked by the very woman he just finished having sex with), and although the mystery at the heart of the narrative initially displays some promise, The Ninth Gate suffers from a case of almost disastrous overlength that becomes more and more problematic as the movie unfolds – with the growing emphasis on illogical elements certainly not doing the proceedings any favors. The watchable feel persists right up until Depp’s character arrives at an Eyes Wide Shut-esque gathering at a fancy estate, after which point the film begins to peter out to a distressingly demonstrable degree – with the abrupt conclusion ensuring that the movie ends on as underwhelming and baffling a note as one could possibly envision (ie what the heck happened, exactly?) Still, The Ninth Gate is a passable piece of work that clearly would’ve benefited from a much, much shorter running time and it ultimately does go without saying that Polanski’s fans will find more to embrace here than his detractors.

**1/2 out of ****