The one with Glenn Close and Dakota Fanning. That moment just showed to me that Rodrigo Garcia is a director with a great future ahead.
It was really powerful.
"Welcome to Hollywood, Peter!"
"But this is Italy........"
"Hollywood is a state of mind!"
Yes, it was powerful. I left the theater thinking WOW!.
I don't know if everyone got the implication. I plan to spring this on some of my friends.
The last segment was definitely the one to end the movie on. A few segments didn't click with me, but I'm getting the dvd tomorrow and plan to analyze each one in a future post.
"Nice beaver!"
"Thanks, I just had it stuffed."--The Naked Gun
Yeah, overall it was uneven, but I think that something that goes with the territory in a movie like this.
But when it hits beautiful moments, wow, they are really beautiful.
The endings of all the episodes leave you wondering (except in some cases, like the one with Sissy Spacek and Aidan Quinn at the motel, which incidentally is one of those I liked less).
But the last one.......Wow......That's so sad............
"Welcome to Hollywood, Peter!"
"But this is Italy........"
"Hollywood is a state of mind!"
my attention wandered a lil bit towards the end (not to say it was a bad movie, cuz i really enjoyed it) but was the implication that Dakota Fanning's character was just a figment on the imagination and is really dead? sorry if i seem so thick headed, i just didnt pick up on it.
shareWhat it's implied is that her daughter is dead, and she's the one Glenn Close came to visit on the cemetery.
The conversation was in her imagination.
"Welcome to Hollywood, Peter!"
"But this is Italy........"
"Hollywood is a state of mind!"
Yeah, I heard from people who saw this movie that the last scene made everyone cry, it was so powerful wow. The acting was flawless, direction = pitch perfect. SAD ENDING MADE ME GET TEARY very rare.
shareYou were lucky to see this in the theater. I hadn't even heard of this film until a friend who worked in a video store gave me a copy. And that last scene with Glenn Close and Dakota Fanning still haunts me – very beautiful and sad.
sharethe last one with Dakota and Glen Close was hauntingly beautiful......I had no idea until the very end.......its not often when a film makes you feel confused about its effect on you..........I thought the last scene really pushed my liking for the movie over the top...........very good film.
"Do you believe in...time travel?" - Frank
The ending of the Glenn Close story hit me hard. I didn't expect it at all. I still think about it even months later. So, so sad. I noticed that she got very uneasy when Dakota climbed the tree, and wondered if the little girl might have fallen from a tree, if that might've had something to do with her death. The movie overall is uneven, but that segment and the Robin Wright Penn one are so great that I'm glad I saw it.
shareomg i swear to God in the ending when i realised dakota was dead i swear to God i just burst into tears!!! i couldnt stop crying for some weird reason!!!
shareit's natural to feel sorrow. I think all the characters are dealing with a loss of some kind. Loss of communication, loss of potential relationships that never came to be, loss of your future, loss of yourself, loss of trust, friendship, your child. I guess most movies deal with loss in some way, because it's a grand issue, but in NINE LIVES, I think some of the characters feel regret, while others feel isolation and loneliness.
"Nice beaver!"
"Thanks, I just had it stuffed."--The Naked Gun
Wow!! I am not ashamed to cry for the movie's ending episode. It took me by utter surprise and then with the full throttle of my emotions, I did not know when I started crying. It came to me as a blow, as a jolt and as a surprise. Even after watching the moving, after seven days, the last episode still haunts me.
The moment she arranges to leave, I felt like 'there is something wrong', and the wrong side took turn, when she kept the strawberries(?) on the cemetary. And I started to feel, how pathetic and lonesome can be for a mom, who has lost a young child and without a life partner! Glenn is always powerful in this kind of scenes, infact, she is going up and up in her ladder at almost 60's! I rcently watched HEIGHTS, omg, it was sure a Glenn Close movie!
All the episodes were brilliant.
Someone pointed put Sissy Spacek's episode un-understandable. Well, the last scene tells it all, when she leaves out of the room she and Adian planned to save the night together.
As the episodes are related, Spacek's visit to the room from where the girl was arrested (she kissed her father, 3rd episode), she felt the moments of her own daughter (in another episode, where the daughter sacrifices life for staying with parents). That feeling of guilt, made her walk away from the motel room.
I loved the episode with Robin Wright Penn. Damn, that episode made me cry again.
Atleast, sometimes crying makes you feel happy and feel your own self. This is one such movie which stares above the rest. Wonderfully crafted, well done Garcia.
I agree, the episode with Robin Wright Penn was pretty good, too.
Rodrigo Garcia is a director with an incredibly sensitive touch.
I understood the Aidan Quinn/Sissy Spacek episode, but it just left me a bit cold, while I really liked the other episode with Spacek's character, when we get to know her daughter and her husband (Ian Macshane did a very good job, IMO).
"Welcome to Hollywood, Peter!"
"But this is Italy........"
"Hollywood is a state of mind!"
i rented this recently and still have it...but i feel like such an idiot i didn't even catch that dakota was dead. i'm for sure going to watch the last story again tomorrow.
I do share the opinion that all episodes were somehow connected but what I cant get is how was the last episode connected to any other? I couldnt find the link... I loved the film, I had just seen Heights and that's another amazing G. Close's performance, very, very good movie..... a MUST.
Although I am not so fond to Dakota Fanning (sometimes I find her a little scary, like a grown up person in the body of a little girl), her episode was simply shocking.
Robin Wright Penn is always good, what a great actress!
I think some episodes were connected to each other by some of the characters, but I don't think the last one is connected to anything else.
Yeah, Robin Wright Penn is really good.
"Welcome to Hollywood, Peter!"
"But this is Italy........"
"Hollywood is a state of mind!"
I loved the Robin Wright Penn and Glen Close/Dakota Fanning stories. I was frustrated that I couldn't find the connection between the last story because all the other ones did connect. The only connection that I found was the cat. At the funeral of the deaf man's wife, there is a photo of her holding a cat and then there is a cat on the grave that Glen and Dakota visited. A stretch? I had to find one.
sharei thought the girl who played holly acted really really well..one thing i didnt like was when the guy bent down to kiss robin write penns stomache.. that disturbed me.. i mean unless its HIS baby.. coz if it isnt.. seriously weird.
shareright before damian kisses diana's stomach, they're standing with their faces touching and you're pretty sure (or at least i was) at that moment that they're going to kiss. but instead he kisses her pregnant stomach and walks away - the significance being that he's walking away from diana for the sake of her unborn child.
shareI agree--except that the significance for me is that Damian is happy for Diana's impending parenthood, a future he will never have (can't have kids). His kiss on her belly gives his blessing to this future; and then he walks out of her life forever.
shareThe only thing about the kiss was it was a tad sexy.
shareI think every episode is linked by the appearance of another person from a different episode. I just saw the movie last night and it was heart wrenching.
The first episode (Sandra) and the last episode (Maggie) were so amazing in examining the hurt of losing a child in two very different ways.
The last episode (Maggie and her daughter) has a very subtle link; the wreath from the deaf woman's funeral is the one seen on the larger gravestone at the beginning of the 360 pan.
The correctional officer in the first episode is the abusive (inplied) father of Holly.
Holly shows up as the nurse in the hospital, and the doctor is Lorna's mother from the funeral scene.
Damien (Diana's ex) and his wife are the hosts for the pyscho couple (Sonia) at their new apartment. I loved the subtle interplay when Sonia's boyfriend is talking about their abortion and the sterile husband (Damien) tries to hold his wife's hand.
Damien's wife shows up at the funeral for the deaf woman as does the woman motel manager (from the Ruth episode); who tells Lorna that she shouldn't have come.
Ruth is in two episodes and while at the motel sees Sandra from the first episode get arrested.
I have to rewatch the Damien and Diana segment to see what the link is there.
Amazing writing, camera work, and acting. This movie really shows how banal, puerile and annoying most modern movies are in their pandering to audiences.
>>I had no idea until the very end.....
The thing is, no one could. I sort of wish there were a way to look back and go, oh yeah....(like Sixth Sense)...
I rented the movie and watched the last segment during my lunch. When it was over, I was kind of depressed the rest of the day. I just kept thinking about it. It stayed with me all that day and through the next day, too. I think the subject of childrens' death is very sensitive and it's not a hard one to shake.
I watched it again- this time I saw the whole movie- and it really got me emotional. Did anyone notice Dakota Fanning's acting? The entire time she didn't act like a little girl who needed to be respectful because she was at a cemetary. She was so non chalant the entire time. That's when I realized she was acting the way Glenn Close would imagine and remember her as. Great work there. Another thing I noticed the first time I saw it was how when Dakota Fanning climbed the tree, she said a line about being taller and all grown up. Right there, I got the impression that this little girl never got a chance to grow up. That and the slow 360 degree pan at the end gave me an idea how it was going to end. One more thing- watching it the second time, I noticed how at the beginning Glenn Close is walking by herself, and then almost out of nowhere, Dakota Fanning comes into the frame. Almost as if Glenn Close started to imagine her being there right at that moment. Just fantastic direction.
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yeah i swear if the ending wasnt how it was i would have found it an alright movie but because of that ending it made me love the movie so much and i wouldnt mind watching it again!
arm..leg..im yours!
In the last segment when Glenn Close is talking to her daughter at a certain point she starts to cry.
Dakota's reaction wasn't the one of a kid who sees her mother starts crying right in front of her, but she was there for her, understanding, and ready to console her.
That also gives you a hint that it's not really her daughter, but just how Glenn Close's character remembers her.
"Welcome to Hollywood, Peter!"
"But this is Italy........"
"Hollywood is a state of mind!"
It you watch this last vignette ("Maggie") again, that is, after knowing the final revelation, I'm sure you'll pick up on many hints along the way, some small, some a bit larger.
I think the most noticeable and heartfelt turning point is when Dakota Fanning's Maria says "dress of a little girl" (the dress she was buried in, perhaps?) as her I-SPY object, and Glenn Close's Maggie expression shifts away from willfully pensive, and walks away from Maria. Counterpoint this gesture w/ the fact that it's clear that Maggie had to help her UP the tree branch earlier... and after she walks away, Maria comes running up to catch up to her (as in the vignette opening).
From that turning point on, the patty-cake sequence and the wonderful delivery of "I'm tired, honey." (I appreciate that the line wasn't a cloying "I'm so sad, I miss you terribly, etc.") gently point the way to the final revelation.
Last thing... those of you who picked up the DVD recall an observation/comment on the Q&A extra featurette that Maggie, out of all 9 women, arguably has suffered the most grief and loss, and in a way, her partially-imagined sequence points the way to the most heartfelt and poignant sense of "moving on."
Also, I found it a bit shocking that Maggie dropped the F-bomb in front of her young daughter, and that the daughter had virtually no reaction. It makes sense when you have the context, tho'.
Cheers, all.
EP in DC
"I don't want life to imitate art; I want life to BE art." -- Postcards from the Edge
Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Aside from the fact that the F-bomb wasn't supposed to register with Maria(because she was just Maggie's imagination) I found it interesting that it's to the point in today's age that F-bombs can be uttered in the presence of children period, haha. I know it's probably done all the time at home and what not, but now it's being done in the movies. When I heard Glenn Close drop an F-bomb in front of an 11(maybe even more like 9 or 10) year old Dakota Fanning, I felt the same way I felt when Tom Cruise dropped the S-bomb in front of her in War of the Worlds- twice! I was like, "Whoa! Did I just hear profanity in the presence of a little girl?" It just makes me realize that movies are always changing. One day, this stuff will be nothing compared to whatever we have in store for movies in the future. I'm not complaining or anything like that. I'm just noticing it and commenting on it.
shareSince Glenn Close looked a littttle too old to be Dakota Fanning's mother, it seemed like Glenn was visiting the grave of the deaf guy's wife (the Lorna scene). A cat was there, maybe Glenn was imagining her daughter with the cat again.
shareWell, no she didn't look that old, but anyway it all depends on when her daughter died. She might have died years ago, but of course she would always remember her, and picture her, as the little kid she was when she passed away.
"Welcome to Hollywood, Peter!"
"But this is Italy........"
"Hollywood is a state of mind!"
Wow, I didn't catch that at all. I feel dumb. Now I need to go back and watch that last episode. I guess I should probably go back and watch them all...
shareI knew right off that the little girl was her moms imagination. The way the little girl just appeared in the film and she was always a few step a head of her mother as if she were leading her to the grave site. It really was a well acted & directed scene. Another thing I really liked about that scene is when Glenn Close puts her head on her daughters lap and the little girl comforts her. I think the little girl was always a joy and great comfort to her mom.
I did not get the Diana & Damien scene at all. Yes I get that they were serious at one time but what happened? Why couldn't she tell him her husbands name?
I own the dvd and will watch it again. I thought it was a great film :)
I assumed Diana didn't want to utter her husband's name in his still powerful presence.
shareI watched the movie on DVD; didn't get that Maria was the dead girl until the very end, and had to watch this segment again.
Not only does Dakota Fanning suddenly come into the frame in that opening scene, her character is often moving in and out of frame. A great example: when Glenn Close reaches into her bag for the cherries, the camera follows her, leaving Fanning half-in-and-out of frame, like she's some sort of prop, or, of course, not really there. Excellent.
**SPOILERS** Don't read further if you haven't seen the film and don't want anything revealed.
I also haven't gotten the DVD and therefore do not have access to any particular commentary regarding the film, only reviews and an article on the director.
Several posters have noted the recurring themes (love, separation, sorrow, loss, etc., particularly relating to children) of the film and how they come together in the final sequence, Maggie.
My question is whether the director is saying something beyond the fact that we're all interconnected and coming to terms with the various losses, separations, and estrangements of our lives. Is he saying something about the soul, about life after death?
I bring that up because of the Camille sequence, in which Richard leans in close after Camille is heavily sedated and whispers. "We're going to be together forever," or words to that effect. It's an interesting moment, coming after Camille has voiced her worries about their daughter (implying that she, Camille, may not live to see her daughter grow up), her relationship with Richard, etc. Does it all come down to deathless relationships?
The Lorna sequence also flirts with the notion of permanent connection, though it implies something more along the lines of sexual obsession than spiritual union. But it all takes place with the backdrop of the funeral of a suicide.
As for the Diana-Damian story, I found the moment when he bestowed a kiss on Diana's pregnant belly rather touching. Damian has made clear that he is unable to father a child (watch the glance he and his wife exchange in a later sequence when an abortion is mentioned), and that kiss seems a gesture of respect and love, not only for Diana but for the child she's carrying. And the sequence ends with the sense that Diana and Damian remain connected, even if they are separated physically.
Thoughts?
when did the dvd come out!
cool beans y'all
when i first saw the last scene i didn't realize what was up and got all weirded out about how she was drinking hard liquor a few steps away, watched it again and wow.... shes kinda nuts.
"Born bad!, it's such a sin, i guess i was born, naturally born, born bad." - mallory knox
Oh, the ending just hit me in the solar plexus. Glenn Close's mother character wants the girl to come down from the tree, but the child says something like, "Just a little longer. I'm taller than you. It's like I'm grown up." I can't stop thinking about it and how brilliant that was--the mother's wish fulfillment. And my granddaughter and I play "I spy with my little eye. . . " all the time, so I was right there with them. (In fact, the casting of Glenn Close was a brilliant stroke as well, because, at first you are thinking, "She must be the child's grandmother. Then you are confused and disbelieve that she could be the mother). It's not often that a film can drop you in your tracks with powerfully authentic empathy. Every woman in the film was grieving for something lost or something about to be lost.
shareAnd was just thinking, the scene where Dakota's character asks, Why do you come here once a year? and Glenn's reples, Do you think I should come more often?
Truly gripping.
I get the feeling that the "baggage" comment, the 9 Lives comment (about the cat), and Glen Close's "I'm so tired..." comment are all related. She's tired because she (and the other women) have so much baggage that they feel as though they've lived 9 lives.
share
I just saw this for the first time. Actually I only caught the second half.
That final segment was one of the saddest things I've ever seen in a movie. I also thought that Glenn Close was the grandmother at first. Then after the reveal it made sense. When that camera panned around the cemetery back to the mom folding up the blanket and the daughter nowhere in sight, I just thought, "Oh no". Made me so down.
Now I'd like to see it again. The full film this time.
I think it's odd a woman would only go to her child's grave once a year.
shareMaggie's age, her comment, "We all move on," and the ease between the two of them, unlike the typical mother/daughter relationship among daughters that young, showed me that Maggie had come to the acceptance stage of her grief which, after the loss of a child, would have to have taken many, many years to achieve.
shareMy wife and I absolutely loved this film, but at the risk of taking some crap for it, I have to admit we totally did not catch that the little girl was supposed to be in Maggie's imagination (or a ghost, if you prefer). We thought it was grandmother and granddaughter, and thought it odd when she stated that the girl was her daughter; but since the movie already had shown a tendency to orient toward older motherhood (even somewhat unrealistically so, as in the case of the Holly Hunter character, and bordering on it in the case of the Robin Wright character), I chalked it up to that.
Even at the very end, we said "huh, where did the little girl go?" but just figured she must have run on toward the car while the camera was panning, or something like that.
Sounds stupid, in retrospect; but even the New York Times' Stephen Holden didn't catch it either, as he stated in his review:
"Maggie has spread out a picnic blanket in front of a modest tombstone that marks the grave of her husband or a close relative (the inscription is never shown nor is a name mentioned)."
And honestly, although as I say I do love this movie and think it was pretty much pitch perfect in almost every other respect, if I were writing the final scene I would not have muddied the issue with having the Dakota Fanning character have to pee (and her mother sighing that she asked her twice in the parking lot). How does that jibe with her being dead?