The Nines

Writer/director John August’s puzzle-fest arrives on the DVD shelves with an impressive bag of extras, which do give an interesting insight into the genesis of the project without really answering many questions for the still-confused.

The commentary, with August and Ryan Reynolds, is the chief offender here. It’s engaging and informative enough, and both men are genial company for the running time. Some key plot points have light shed on them, but more often there’s just a lot of chat about shooting schedules, problems they had getting the light right etc. Interesting enough if you’re in the biz, but for me a full-scale engagement with what the film is really about would have been more rewarding.

Other extras include interviews with August and Melissa McCarthy (for me the real star of the movie, and its heart in more ways than one). Both are a treat to listen to – August sheds some interesting light on how his experiences on the TV show DC informed the ‘reality show’ middle section; it’s clearly an episode that still rankles. And McCarthy reveals that she and August go back a long way, and the idea for the Nines came from a short he wrote specially for her.

The short, God (about a girl who talks to... er, God) is included, along with a commentary option. Several deleted scenes are included (each with commentary option, too). They don’t add much (or explain anything!) but the ‘original ending’ is definitely worth a look – much more downbeat and enigmatic and, for me, superior.

Rounding things off are Summing Up The Nines, which despite the title is a fairly standard making-of that doesn’t shed much more light on the central idea, or the answer the many “hang on a bit, if that’s true then why...” moments that this reviewer experienced; and Script To Screen, which examines how a typical scene looks when storyboarded; again interesting enough, but nothing the average movie fan won’t have seen before.

The usual trailer, photo gallery and slideshow are all present and correct. It’s a good value for money package but if you were lukewarm about the movie initially, it’s unlikely to convert you. If, however, you thought it was an interesting attempt to do something a bit different (as I did) it does offer an intriguing glimpse of how far the roots of an idea can go back in its creator’s mind.