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The Ninth Gate (1999)

Rate: 4
Viewed: 3/03, 12/07

9thGate
12/07: The Ninth Gate is an interesting misfire in Roman Polanski's résumé.

Everything had been working so well that I got into the film which was shaping to be a terrific neo-noir. Then, all of a sudden, it fell apart. The ending...what the hell happened? Anyway, Johnny Depp is perfect for the role. He makes book dealing a very cool profession to get into. Except for Emmanuelle Seinger (Roman Polanski's wife) who's useless, the cast is great.

I love the cinematography; it's magnificent. I like the story and the gumshoe aspect of it. Ultimately, it's Roman Polanski who lets me down big time. He's too good of a director, so yeah...it's disappointing. All he had to do is carry the momentum from start to finish just like how he did for Chinatown.

I don't often mention anything about opening screen credits in my reviews, and if I do, it's usually for a James Bond flick. The way it's done in The Ninth Gate is cool, especially when the lines came flying straight toward the screen.

All in all, The Ninth Gate should've worked, but wow...it sure fell apart at the end.