The Nines
Encyclopedia
The Nines is a 2007 psychological thriller
drama film
, written, and directed by John August
, and starring Ryan Reynolds
, Hope Davis
, Melissa McCarthy
, and Elle Fanning
. The film debuted at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
, and made $63,165 in the U.S. box office through October 11, 2007.
, Gary, who is wearing the green bracelet on his wrist. Gary is under house arrest
living in another person's house because he burned down his own. The owner of the house is described as a TV writer away on work. While living in the house he is befriended by both a P.R. 'handler', Margaret, and the single mom next door, Sarah, who may or may not be interested in him romantically. Over the course of his house arrest, Gary becomes convinced that he is being haunted by the number nine, including finding a note saying "Look for the nines" in his handwriting. He also sees different versions of himself around the house, which unsettles him, causing him to break out of his house arrest barrier, which in turn causes a blip in reality. He encounters many occurrences of the number nine, while playing backgammon
he rolls nines, while reading newspaper advertisements he becomes obsessed with finding nines. Asking Sarah about 9, worries her and she cryptically tells him "I can get you out of here".
"Part Two: Reality Television" tells of a television writer, Gavin, trying to get his pilot made. He leaves his house to go away and work on his TV show, Knowing, about a mother and daughter who are lost, which stars his friend Melissa (Melissa McCarthy playing a version of herself) as the lead actress. In a conversation about reviews and critics Susan, a television executive, tells Gavin to look for the nines which he then writes on a piece of paper, the same piece which Gary found in Part One. He also tells Melissa he thinks he is haunted by himself. During the process of post production, Susan pushes for Gavin to ditch his friend Melissa as the unconventional lead actress of his project, in favor of a more attractive, well-known actress. This causes an argument between him and Melissa. He then finds out that the well-known actress was actually cast in another show which Susan knew of before suggesting her. Since she is now unavailable and Melissa won't answer Gavin's phone-calls. Gavin confronts Susan about her knowing his show would never get picked up and about him only being a subject on a Reality-TV show. After a heated exchange, he snaps and slaps her in the mouth. Insulting his manhood for hitting a woman she scoffs "Do you think you are a man"? She walks away, which leads to him telling the reality TV cameraman to leave him alone. A pedestrian then asks him who he is talking to, and it is shown that the reality television cameraman does not exist. He looks around and notices that everyone has a 7 floating above their heads and also that he has the number nine floating above his head.
A flashback from Part One shows Gary's P.R. handler, Margaret, telling him he is a God-like being and that God is a 10, humans are a 7 and that he is a 9, therefore he can destroy the world with a single thought, and that he exists in many different forms and that none of them are real. Gary does not believe this and flips out, which is revealed to be the real reason for his breaking his house arrest barrier in Part One.
"Part Three: Knowing" tells of an acclaimed video game designer, Gabriel, whose car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Gabriel leaves his wife, Mary, and young daughter, Noelle, to try to get a better signal on his phone. He meets a woman, Sierra, who leads him off into the woods to her car, so she can give him a lift to the gas station. Meanwhile back at the car Noelle watches a video on a digital camera showing Gavin talking to Melissa from Part Two and Margaret talking to Gary in Part One. She is confused and shows her mom, who appears confused as well.
Meanwhile, Gabriel shows signs of intoxication, as Sierra had drugged water she was giving him with gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid
. She has been trying all this long as Sarah, Sierra, Susan to separate the other three incarnations of "G" from Mary. That poisoning him with GHB was the only way to get him to stop long enough to reason with him. She calms Gabriel by telling him that this is an intervention and they (the Prostitute from part 1, and parole officer/agitated man), were trying to help him come home. She likens Gabriel's addiction to video game addiction. That Gabriel has been playing for 4,000 years reincarnating into different roles to play with the humans. The 3 nines plead with him to come back home.
Back at the car Noelle has gone missing. Gabriel then returns to the car with Noelle in his arms and the family goes home. Mary, who realizes that he is not who he seems, tells Gabriel he needs to go and that the world is not real. Gabriel tells her that there were ninety different variations of the universe and this is the last one. Gabriel then realizes he must go and removes the green bracelet from his wrist, at which point the universe peels away into nothing. The film ends with the woman from all three parts married to Ben, whom she is married to in Part Two, and Noelle as their daughter. Noelle tells her mother that "he's not coming back" and that "all the pieces have been put together" and her mother finishes her sentence that this is "the best of all possible worlds."
and two days in New York
, with some scenes in John August's house. The movie was shot in a combination of video and film with everything being posted in high-definition
.
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
, written, and directed by John August
John August
John August is an American screenwriter and film director. He also writes and maintains the popular screenwriting blog , and develops screenwriter-targeted software....
, and starring Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Rodney Reynolds is a Canadian film and television actor, best known for his roles in such films as National Lampoon's Van Wilder, Waiting..., The Amityville Horror, Just Friends, Definitely, Maybe, The Proposal, Buried, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Green Lantern.One of his best known...
, Hope Davis
Hope Davis
Hope Davis is an American actress. She has starred in more than 20 feature films, including About Schmidt, Arlington Road, Flatliners, Mumford, American Splendor, The Lodger and Next Stop Wonderland....
, Melissa McCarthy
Melissa McCarthy
Melissa McCarthy is an American actress and comedian.From 2000 to 2007, she portrayed Sookie St. James on the The WB television series Gilmore Girls. From 2007 to 2009, she portrayed Dena on the ABC sitcom Samantha Who? She currently stars in the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly, for which she...
, and Elle Fanning
Elle Fanning
Mary Elle Fanning , credited as Elle Fanning, is an American actress. She is the younger sister of actress Dakota Fanning and mainly known for her starring roles in Phoebe in Wonderland, Somewhere, Super 8 and We Bought a Zoo which will receive a theatrical release on December 23,...
. The film debuted at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
2007 Sundance Film Festival
The 2007 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 18 until January 28, 2007 in Park City, Utah with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah and Ogden, Utah. It was the 23-rd iteration of the Sundance Film Festival...
, and made $63,165 in the U.S. box office through October 11, 2007.
Plot
"Part One: The Prisoner" tells of a troubled actorActor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, Gary, who is wearing the green bracelet on his wrist. Gary is under house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
living in another person's house because he burned down his own. The owner of the house is described as a TV writer away on work. While living in the house he is befriended by both a P.R. 'handler', Margaret, and the single mom next door, Sarah, who may or may not be interested in him romantically. Over the course of his house arrest, Gary becomes convinced that he is being haunted by the number nine, including finding a note saying "Look for the nines" in his handwriting. He also sees different versions of himself around the house, which unsettles him, causing him to break out of his house arrest barrier, which in turn causes a blip in reality. He encounters many occurrences of the number nine, while playing backgammon
Backgammon
Backgammon is one of the oldest board games for two players. The playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice, and players win by removing all of their pieces from the board. There are many variants of backgammon, most of which share common traits...
he rolls nines, while reading newspaper advertisements he becomes obsessed with finding nines. Asking Sarah about 9, worries her and she cryptically tells him "I can get you out of here".
"Part Two: Reality Television" tells of a television writer, Gavin, trying to get his pilot made. He leaves his house to go away and work on his TV show, Knowing, about a mother and daughter who are lost, which stars his friend Melissa (Melissa McCarthy playing a version of herself) as the lead actress. In a conversation about reviews and critics Susan, a television executive, tells Gavin to look for the nines which he then writes on a piece of paper, the same piece which Gary found in Part One. He also tells Melissa he thinks he is haunted by himself. During the process of post production, Susan pushes for Gavin to ditch his friend Melissa as the unconventional lead actress of his project, in favor of a more attractive, well-known actress. This causes an argument between him and Melissa. He then finds out that the well-known actress was actually cast in another show which Susan knew of before suggesting her. Since she is now unavailable and Melissa won't answer Gavin's phone-calls. Gavin confronts Susan about her knowing his show would never get picked up and about him only being a subject on a Reality-TV show. After a heated exchange, he snaps and slaps her in the mouth. Insulting his manhood for hitting a woman she scoffs "Do you think you are a man"? She walks away, which leads to him telling the reality TV cameraman to leave him alone. A pedestrian then asks him who he is talking to, and it is shown that the reality television cameraman does not exist. He looks around and notices that everyone has a 7 floating above their heads and also that he has the number nine floating above his head.
A flashback from Part One shows Gary's P.R. handler, Margaret, telling him he is a God-like being and that God is a 10, humans are a 7 and that he is a 9, therefore he can destroy the world with a single thought, and that he exists in many different forms and that none of them are real. Gary does not believe this and flips out, which is revealed to be the real reason for his breaking his house arrest barrier in Part One.
"Part Three: Knowing" tells of an acclaimed video game designer, Gabriel, whose car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Gabriel leaves his wife, Mary, and young daughter, Noelle, to try to get a better signal on his phone. He meets a woman, Sierra, who leads him off into the woods to her car, so she can give him a lift to the gas station. Meanwhile back at the car Noelle watches a video on a digital camera showing Gavin talking to Melissa from Part Two and Margaret talking to Gary in Part One. She is confused and shows her mom, who appears confused as well.
Meanwhile, Gabriel shows signs of intoxication, as Sierra had drugged water she was giving him with gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid
GHB
GHB may refer to:*gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid, a neuroprotective and depressant drug that is illegal in a number of countries*glycated hemoglobin, a form of hemoglobin created during its exposure to high plasma levels of glucose...
. She has been trying all this long as Sarah, Sierra, Susan to separate the other three incarnations of "G" from Mary. That poisoning him with GHB was the only way to get him to stop long enough to reason with him. She calms Gabriel by telling him that this is an intervention and they (the Prostitute from part 1, and parole officer/agitated man), were trying to help him come home. She likens Gabriel's addiction to video game addiction. That Gabriel has been playing for 4,000 years reincarnating into different roles to play with the humans. The 3 nines plead with him to come back home.
Back at the car Noelle has gone missing. Gabriel then returns to the car with Noelle in his arms and the family goes home. Mary, who realizes that he is not who he seems, tells Gabriel he needs to go and that the world is not real. Gabriel tells her that there were ninety different variations of the universe and this is the last one. Gabriel then realizes he must go and removes the green bracelet from his wrist, at which point the universe peels away into nothing. The film ends with the woman from all three parts married to Ben, whom she is married to in Part Two, and Noelle as their daughter. Noelle tells her mother that "he's not coming back" and that "all the pieces have been put together" and her mother finishes her sentence that this is "the best of all possible worlds."
Cast
- Ryan ReynoldsRyan ReynoldsRyan Rodney Reynolds is a Canadian film and television actor, best known for his roles in such films as National Lampoon's Van Wilder, Waiting..., The Amityville Horror, Just Friends, Definitely, Maybe, The Proposal, Buried, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Green Lantern.One of his best known...
as a niner named: "G" Gary a troubled actor/ Gavin a TV writer/ and Gabriel a Computer-Game designer - Melissa McCarthyMelissa McCarthyMelissa McCarthy is an American actress and comedian.From 2000 to 2007, she portrayed Sookie St. James on the The WB television series Gilmore Girls. From 2007 to 2009, she portrayed Dena on the ABC sitcom Samantha Who? She currently stars in the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly, for which she...
as Margaret, Gary's PR handler/ Melissa an actress in Gavin's TV show/ and Mary, Gabriel's wife. - Hope DavisHope DavisHope Davis is an American actress. She has starred in more than 20 feature films, including About Schmidt, Arlington Road, Flatliners, Mumford, American Splendor, The Lodger and Next Stop Wonderland....
as a niner presumably named "S" Sarah, Gary's Neighbor/ Susan a TV executive for Gavin/ and Sierra a mysterious woman who tries to help Gabriel - Elle FanningElle FanningMary Elle Fanning , credited as Elle Fanning, is an American actress. She is the younger sister of actress Dakota Fanning and mainly known for her starring roles in Phoebe in Wonderland, Somewhere, Super 8 and We Bought a Zoo which will receive a theatrical release on December 23,...
as Noelle - David DenmanDavid DenmanDavid Denman is an American film and television actor.-Education:After graduating from Fountain Valley High School, Denman attended the summer training congress at American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco before receiving his B.F.A. from Juilliard.-Career:He made his film debut with Keanu...
as the Parole Officer/ and the Agitated Man/ an interventionist niner - Octavia SpencerOctavia SpencerOctavia L. Spencer is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role on Ugly Betty as Constance Grady, the INS Agent turned stalker of Betty's father, Ignacio Suarez and in the 2011 movie The Help as Minny....
as a Streetwalker/ and the Pedestrian/ an interventionist niner - Jim RashJim RashJim Rash was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and is an American actor, comedian and screenwriter.His most noticeable appearance was when he portrayed Mr Grayson/Stitches, a sidekick to the supervillain 'Royal Pain' in the 2005 film Sky High and as the recurring characters Fenton on That '70s Show...
as Gavin's dinner party guest - Ben Falcone as Himself
- Dahlia SalemDahlia SalemDahlia Salem is an American actress. She played Sofia Carlino on Another World and Claire Walsh on General Hospital.-Filmography:* Another World .... Sofia Carlino...
as Herself - John Gatins as Himself
- Andy Fielder as the Moderator
- Greg Baine as the Delivery Boy
Production
The movie was shot over 22 days in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and two days in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, with some scenes in John August's house. The movie was shot in a combination of video and film with everything being posted in high-definition
High-definition video
High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...
.
Soundtrack
- "You Keep Me Hangin' On" Performed by Ferris WheelFerris WheelThe original Ferris Wheel, sometimes also referred to as the Chicago Wheel, was the centerpiece of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois....
- "Trucha" Performed by Ghostman MC
- "Alive Transmission" Performed by The ShysThe ShysThe Shys are a five piece rock band from Southern California, Their current line-up consists of Kyle Krone, Chris Wulff, Riley Stephenson, and Ryan Hansen. Their debut CD, titled Astoria, was released on Sire Records on July 11, 2006. The bands reputation for their high energy captivating live...
- "Hang On Little Tomata" Performed by Pink MartiniPink MartiniPink Martini is a 13-member "little orchestra" from Portland, Oregon, formed in 1994 by pianist Thomas M. Lauderdale. They draw inspiration from music from all over the world – crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop.-History:...
- "Is That All There Is" Performed by Hope DavisHope DavisHope Davis is an American actress. She has starred in more than 20 feature films, including About Schmidt, Arlington Road, Flatliners, Mumford, American Splendor, The Lodger and Next Stop Wonderland....
- "Paper Plane" Performed by Persephone's BeesPersephone's BeesPersephone's Bees is an Oakland-based rock/pop music group.-History:Growing up in Pyatigorsk, Russia, lead singer Angelina Moysova was musically inspired by her family: her mother played traditional folk/gypsy music while her brother played modern music...
- "Teenage Villain" Written by Keith MansfieldKeith MansfieldKeith Mansfield is a British composer and arranger known for his creation of prominent television theme tunes, including the Grandstand theme for the BBC...
- "Bang Bang To The Rock 'N' Roll" Performed by GabinGabinGąbin is a small town in Płock County, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland, with 4,230 inhabitants . It is an ancient town, having been founded in the 13th century.-Current events:...
- "Comet Samba" Performed by Cabaret Diosa
- "Monokini Ou Bikini" Performed by Georges Deligny
- "Romantico Bosanova" Written by Philippe Bestion
- "As Long As He Needs Me" Performed by Melissa McCarthyMelissa McCarthyMelissa McCarthy is an American actress and comedian.From 2000 to 2007, she portrayed Sookie St. James on the The WB television series Gilmore Girls. From 2007 to 2009, she portrayed Dena on the ABC sitcom Samantha Who? She currently stars in the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly, for which she...
- "Multiply" Performed by Jamie LidellJamie LidellJamie Lidell is an English musician and soul singer living in Nashville, United States...
- "Sugar Town" Performed by Juliet TurnerJuliet TurnerJuliet Turner is a singer/songwriter from Tummery, near Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. She has been a part of the Dublin music scene since she started recording in 1996. In the course of her career she has opened for such artists as Bob Dylan, U2 and Bryan Adams and toured with Roger...
- "Myopia" Performed by The Skeem
- "Tears Coming Home" Performed by Sebastien SchullerSébastien SchullerSébastien Schuller is a French singer and songwriter from Aubergenville. He also took part in composing several soundtracks Sébastien Schuller (born Jean-Sébastien Schuller) is a French singer and songwriter from Aubergenville. He also took part in composing several soundtracks Sébastien Schuller...
- "Chopin Nocturne 1, Opus 32" Performed by Danielle Luppi
- "The Other Side Of Mt. Heart Attack" Performed by Liars
- "The Finish Line" Performed by Snow PatrolSnow PatrolSnow Patrol are an alternative rock band from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. Formed at the University of Dundee in 1994 as an indie rock band, the band is now based in Glasgow...