What would you do?  That is the question that is both posed by Will (Winston Duke) and haunts him.  In his outpost in the desert, Will has the impossible task of interviewing souls which he will watch over once they are born on Earth.  After a vacancy arises, Will begins the arduous selection process so that a new soul can be born and given the gift of life. 

In the debut feature for writer/director Edson Oda, Nine Days, distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, dives deep into the complexities of life.  What is most striking, even beyond the existential topic, is the production design by Dan Hermansen.  His commitment and care into the look of the film is immediately recognized and it adds the lived-in feel to the narrative that so many designers seek to achieve.  From the first scene, the TV room is instantly intriguing with its wall of old TV monitors and video tapes.  Next, we move to the file room where Will has records spanning decades into the pasts of the people he selected for life on earth.  It is here we start to truly realize that Will has been following these people for their entire lives and notating everything in his journals. 

One of them, Amanda, who we never really see, is in the final days of rehearsal for a violin concerto.  This is primed to be a big event, not only for Amanda, but for Will as well.  In what will be the first of a very theatrical and creative use of space, he creates a projection system so that he can see it on more than just the small TV and invites his friend, Kyo (Benedict Wong), over to enjoy the music as well.  But unfortunately, Amanda’s car crashes on her way to the concerto and now, riddled with grief, Will must begin the nine-day interview process to find who will fill Amanda’s vacancy on Earth.  Her absence will be a shadow that looms heavy over Will. 

In an interview process that any Philosophy 101 professor would love, but is thankfully not at all like the droning, endless lectures that plague college freshmen across the country, we begin to learn the ins and outs of this strange concept while meeting the potential candidates.  It is the start of a nine-day process, condensed into a runtime a little longer than two hours.  Oda is very aware that this is an exposition dump, but he cross cuts between the characters and utilizes Will in such a way that we don’t ever feel bogged down by it.  Duke brings such complexity to the role of Will, and we can never be sure of the what or the why behind his actions.  Even Kyo will later explain that he has a rather unorthodox approach to his interviews.   

Will is such a great character and Duke’s understated performance is a true marvel to watch on screen.  It would be so easy to make him the straight man of sorts in order to not give away his hand to the candidates or to us as the audience, but so many times Duke chooses to let us into the mind of Will through his careful use of facial expressions and total control over his physicality.  Nine Days runs him through some cathartic highs, but not before punishing him with catastrophic lows.  He interrogates us as an audience just as he is asking the candidates and as he grows angry or weary with them, we feel it as well.  Duke is at a career high in Nine Days and is not to be missed.      

Opposite of Will is Kyo who has the role of comic relief and walks the line of friend and assistant very well.  There is such love he has towards Will, and you can tell he is one in pain with Will, but also wants to see Will continue with his life – he is there to help Will navigate through his grief of losing Amanda and reckon with his responsibility to find someone to fill her spot in life.  Wong’s performance is chummy, but it never breaks the tone or the mood of the narrative.  There is a responsibility to Will as Kyo will not leave him as the candidates all eventually will, but their relationship is very solid as we watch the two interact on screen together.  Kyo works as a great foil to Will because he too loved Amanda but has processed her loss in an entirely different way.  He is not one to wallow, rather he chooses to enjoy the good moments and memories both in and around her life. 

The other uniquely interesting character in comparison to Will is Emma (Zazie Beetz).  She is introduced as one of the prospective souls, and what the script does so well is that while we can tell she is different when compared to the other candidates, it never goes out of its way to treat her special.  We never feel like she is falling into the arc of the chosen one.  She does have more access to Will throughout the film and takes up a good bit a screentime compared to the other candidates, but Will never shows her any real favoritism which is so refreshing to see a film that treats all its characters equally.      

Beetz’s strong performance does not take away the power from the other candidates, if anything, it shows just how strong the rest of the cast is given their shorter screentime.  For example, David Rysdahl is Mike, a nervous man who becomes instantly sympathetic next to a bellowing Will during the initial interview.  Mike enjoys the beauty of nature all around him, he is timid, shy, one could even say a little nervous.  There is a long, wordless scene involving Rysdahl and Duke that really elevates Nine Days into its deeply emotional second act. Coupled again by the brilliant scene work by Hermansen, this sequence sears itself into our mind and the weight from it we will carry through to the end of the film – and long afterwards, too. 

Nine Days has a very good sense at when it needs to break some of the existential weight it places on the shoulders of the candidates.  It does so through Kyo, but also Alexander (Tony Hale), who has a goofy, next-door neighbor sort of vibe.  He seems to be the most relaxed and casual of the candidates, and Hale brings a great energy to his scenes.  Nothing ever gets him down; all he wants to do is kick back and relax with some beers around the BBQ.  His lighthearted approach to Will’s process adds for some great texture in the scene because Will tries so hard to break Alex’s spirits, but Alex refuses to let him.  It is a very understated performance, but one so necessary for the film.  When Will finally begins to wear him down, watching Alex reconcile with all these stomached emotions is a deeply affecting experience. 

Another candidate, more akin to Mike than to Alexander, is Maria (Arianna Ortiz).  Whereas Alexander is afraid to confront his feelings and tries to create a bubble around him from anything uncomfortable, Maria is much more in tune with herself.  She has a very motherly instinct about her, and Ortiz brings a great tenderness to her role.  Yet there is a sadness that surrounds her as she sympathizes with Will in his grief around the loss of Amanda.  Maria, as she looks on at the lives playing out through the screens in the TV Room, has a heart that is overpouring with love towards them all.  She sees the good in all people as her saintly name would imply.  She is the mirror of Will in that sense that she cares for everyone that crosses her path; the only difference is her love is far less transactional than Will’s.  That is not meant to cheapen Will’s version of love, it is clear he cares very deeply about the candidates and his selectees on Earth, but Will’s love towards the candidate ends shortly after the interview ends.  The rules we infer are that those not selected disappear from Will’s orbit all together, so while Maria has love for all the people she sees through the screens, Will is much more guarded with who he openly shows his love to as he does not want to be abandoned by them.    

Finally, there is Kane (Bill Skarsgård), another candidate that really stands out from the rest given his tendency towards the more violent responses to Will’s questions.  It is not because he is inherently a violent person, rather, instead of choosing to see all the good things on the screen in the TV Room, he sees the injustice and pain that people suffer.  Over dinner he recounts that he saw a news story about the abduction of two young girls, and how it filled him with rage.  He often cited that he would fight, but every time he chooses this path, he had his reasons to do so.  Much like Emma, Kane sees the world a little bit differently.  It is here where Oda’s script really shines as it never sets up the discussion around Kane’s viewpoint in such a way that he would always lose.  The more peaceful candidates are never afforded the luxury of Kane being given a weak argument; in fact, many times Kane comes out stronger and better prepared to defend his ideas.  The other candidates are then left to challenge their own viewpoints – and we, our own. 

Nine Days is a deconstruction of the large, intertwined ensemble pieces.  There is no climactic third act intersection like with Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia (1999), a sprawling, emotional odyssey through the San Fernado Valley which asks many of the same questions of its characters as Oda presents here; but like Magnolia, if we remove any of the characters the film just would not work.  What is truly impressive is how Oda’s script gives each of these characters equal value.  There is no preference from his end as he is truly interested in a complete and open discussion of ideas, and it allows us as the audience to view and respect each of these characters perception of the world with the same equal weight that Will is assessing them. 

This balancing act is what makes Nine Days so special to watch and will surely reward repeat viewings.  The film teaches us empathy, not just for the candidates, but for Will’s remaining charges as well.  We see glimpses of their lives, brief moments of love and compassion, or hatred and violence.  We see how they respond, and more greatly how their actions effect those around them.  It is such a unique and interesting way to pose these grand questions of the purpose of life, the meaning of it all. 

Will is in the constant struggle to do good in a world full of bad things as he tries to select the best souls, the ones who will do the most good deeds in life, but he is discouraged to see how the world treats their kindness.  He struggles with a concept that we all do, more and more each day, that is how can we do what is right when the world seems to reward those that do wrong?  Why are good deeds seen as weakness?  Why is their illness and suffering?  Are we strong enough to stand up for our beliefs?  In a world with so much hatred, are we able to find beauty?  Have we accomplished anything?  

Among these, and the many other questions this film asks us, the most important question still remains: What world have we been watching?