Crime Screen Review: The Ninth Gate (1999)

March 1, 2011 at 8:26 pm by saucerman  

Greetings, readers. The name Johnny Depp should not be an unfamiliar one. Captain Jack Sparrow, Edward Scissorhands, Sweeny Todd, that kid who got turned into a hundred gallons of puree in the original A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, Depp has shown himself to be a talented, versatile actor. He even, you’ll recall, put on an angora sweater and pumps to play infamous transvestite filmmaker Edward D. Wood, Jr. Unfortunately, I feel like some of his talent has been obscured by the layers of chalk-toned greasepaint Tim Burton has slathered Depp with time and again, turning him into a gaunt idol for fat “goth” girls to fingerbang themselves to longingly.

Tonight’s film, a swiftly forgotten 1999 thriller from kiddie-fiddler/director Roman Polanski, is a reminder that once you scrape away an Insane Clown Posse concert’s worth of white face paint, Depp’s got the cinematic goods.

Depp stars as Dean Corso, an unscrupulous buyer and seller of rare books in this adaptation of Arturo Perez-Reverte’s novel The Club Dumas. We actually are first introduced to the man as he swindles a stroke victim’s family out of a collection of valuable old volumes. An unnerving Old World aristocratic type, Boris Balkan (Frank Langella at his creepiest), hires Corso with an intriguing offer.

There are three copies known to exist of Aristide Torchia’s demonological text The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows. Balkan has one. He is offering a hefty retainer for Corso to find, authenticate, and by any means necessary, acquire the other two volumes. Before long, Corso finds himself drawn into a centuries-old web of Satanic ritual and modern backstabbing deceit…

Damn, I wish Depp did more movies like this. THE NINTH GATE is damned good Horror/Neo-Noir, handled with intelligence and flair, and engaging the audience rather than simply talking down to them and throwing explosions and tits at them. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a good explosion, car chase, or big, jiggling pleasure-zeppelins. But there is a time and a place for those, and THE NINTH GATE isn’t it.

Dean Corso’s journey across Europe and dealings with the owners of the two remaining copies of The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows are the focus of the film, and as such it falls on Depp to carry almost the entire film on his shoulders, which he does admirably, and on a diet consisting solely of whiskey and cigarettes – seriously, I don’t think Corso consumes so much as a saltine cracker. Nothing but whiskey and cigarettes.

Supporting Depp is Frank Langella as the occultist Boris Balkan, and I have to say, it’s a career-defining performance. Few could have imbued the role with the same sublime blend of suave and sinister that Langella manages here, and it’s beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. My favorite villains have always been those who exude a quiet, subtle menace, and Boris Balkan is among the best I’ve seen, though he also has his moments of bombast, and Langella makes those work as well.

All in all, THE NINTH GATE is a stunning film, a thriller combining traditional European demonology with the deeply Lovecraftian “consequences of the quest for knowledge.” Normally movies dealing with the Devil and Satanism ring very dull for me, but THE NINTH GATE is a very different sort of Devil-movie. The film moves a little slowly at times and will disappoint the casual moviegoer just looking for a mindless popcorn-muncher. But if you’re willing to allow yourself to become involved in the film and give it what it asks of you, you’re in for a treat.

I’m going to go ahead and give THE NINTH GATE (1999)…five authentic engravings out of a possible five.

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