Nine Days

Every once in a while, a quiet film comes along and knocks me out with an emotional gut punch. That film this year is "nine days", expertly acted by Winston Duke (Black Panther, Us) demonstrating control and a discomforting lack of emotion towards those around him. Despite being surrounded by a supporting cast of great character actors: Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange) and Tony Hale (Veep) are some of the biggest standouts, this is Winston's show and the camera follows him intimately as he works to accomplish his purpose.

And what is his purpose? To go into all of that would result in spoilers and "Nine Days" is one of those films that is best to go in knowing very little if you can manage. Written and directed with precision and patience by Edson Oda, "Nine Days" is a unique tale that requires patience, discomfort and an emotional reflection of life and its purpose. There are a lot of conversations about humanity, how people treat one another and the repercussions of the decisions we make or don't make in life. Winston's performance as Will is both heartbreaking and entrancing as you understand the gravity of his purpose but are saddened by the burden it puts on himself and those he encounters in this isolated house in the middle of a desert in what seems like pre-life purgatory.

Zazie Beetz, beautiful and reliable as always, arrives about thirty minutes into the film and serves as the audience's perspective in this trial of conversations and tasks that Will puts the various characters in this story through. Beetz's earnest energy as Emma makes her the perfect vessel to break through Will's armor...if she can get him to get over his fears from his past life. Whoops. Again...I don't want to say too much. While it is a bit overlong, especially at a pace that holds steady for the entire two hour length, you cannot deny the incredible performance of winston duke and the breathtaking cinematography by Wyatt Garfield. I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of unique, science fiction films that go deeper than expected on themes of morality and humanity.

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-Brandon Collins