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The Nines is a complex, thought-provoking work divided into three sections and featuring the same actors playing different roles, with the number nine always lurking in the background. In 'The Prisoner,' Ryan Reynolds plays Gary, a TV star who has been placed under house arrest after going crazy because his girlfriend dumped him. He is watched closely by Margaret, a publicist who seems to know more than she is letting on, and by neighbour Sarah, who is instantly attracted to him. In 'Reality Television' Reynolds is a director named Gavin who is shooting a TV pilot starring McCarthy, but he's getting mixed signals from studio executive Susan, all while being filmed for a television reality program. And in 'Knowing', Reynolds is Gabriel, the character in the TV pilot that Gavin was shooting, with McCarthy playing his wife, Mary, and Davis as a mysterious stranger deciding whether she should help the family, whose car has broken down on a deserted mountain. Certain minute elements repeat in each part, giving clues as to what it's all really about as fantasy and reality intertwine.

The pig says ‘Oink!’. The cow says ‘Moo!’. The dog says ‘Nine... nine... nine…’

TV actor Gary finds himself under house arrest, chaperoned by his PA Margaret... more >

The pig says ‘Oink!’. The cow says ‘Moo!’. The dog says ‘Nine... nine... nine…’

TV actor Gary finds himself under house arrest, chaperoned by his PA Margaret and flirting with neighbour Sarah. Soon he is encountering ghosts, paranoia, and mysterious messages about the Nines. When things go truly bizarre, the film jumps to a new scenario, although this time Gary is now a TV script-writer, Margaret is the star of his pilot show and Sarah is the executive who holds the keys to his career.

The Nines is not an easy film to describe, a Chinese puzzle of missing navels, mysterious messages, hidden agendas and multi-dimensional theory. The jumble of theology and science echo Donnie Darko, and the identity paranoia of David Lynch and Philip K Dick are obvious influences. The unusual structure, along with a clever script leaves you bemused, but tantalisingly in reach of a solution. Scratch your head if you must, laugh at talk of Koala bears at 8 (who’d have thought!), but try to answer the question, ‘What are the Nines?’

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