Like the Greek muses of yore, the characters in 9 count nine as well. The movie's title might refer to the fact that there are nine of them, or it might refer to the central character who's simply called 9 (voiced by Elijah Wood).
9 is a living jute doll who wears his name on his back not unlike a football jersey. As he opens his eyes for the first time, he finds himself all alone in a room that lies in tatters. He tries to get his bearings and from the relative proportions to other objects we can tell that he's small. He ventures to the window, pushes open the blind, and what is revealed to him leaves him wide-eyed.
Him and me both.
The film has a way of sucking you into the tale, partly because of the sounds and visuals, and partly because you don't know what to expect or what to make of things. When 9 opens his eyes, so do we. Every time he learns something new, we learn something new. We're riding along on his trip on the learning curve. He makes quick progress, though, once he makes acquaintance with 2 (Martin Landau) and later with the rest of the nonet (including Christopher Plummer as 1, John C. Reilly as 5, and Jennifer Connelly as 7).
Along the way, 9 and his new friends have to deal with ferocious creatures, and eventually with the truth behind their existence.
9 is storytelling pure and simple and a small gem to behold.
(Running time: 79 minutes)
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