The Nines

John August’s directorial debut, The Nines, is probably the best and most unexpected mind bender since Richard Kelly’s explosive debut, Donnie Darko. It’s set in a world within a world that may or may not be real and may or may not be a parallel universe. It’s a difficult film to reasonably assess without giving away at least a few of its twisty transformations, so anyone wishing to savor its splendid ambiguities in all their glory might want to steer clear of all press materials just to be safe.

Ryan Reynolds stars as at least three different variations on one character: a Hollywood star under house arrest, a screenwriter working on a network pilot, and a game designer with a wife and child. He’s joined by Hope Davis, Melissa McCarthy, and Elle Fanning who also play multiple versions of similar characters. Each character, like each new narrative strand, mysteriously overlaps with elements from other parts of the film in captivating ways, making the movie something of a big jigsaw puzzle just waiting for all the pieces to come together. Thankfully, August delivers a final reveal that marvelously explains all the events that came before it. More importantly, he creates multiple engaging worlds, each with interlocking significances and very funny, interesting characters. Each scene works as just a scene between characters. The larger framework is just an added bonus. The greater level that all of the characters are operating on is not made clear for some time, but they never once feel like cogs in a machine. It’s a brilliantly realized vision from start to finish.

The Nines is a lot of things: a L.A. satire, multiple character dramas, a “big picture” mystery. And all of it links thematically to the notion of the supreme disillusionment of the creative process, getting involved in fiction (films, TV, video games), so completely that the real world and the virtual world bleed into one another. Be patient. Keep focused. Enjoy the ride.

Grade: A