Desertman84 Nine Lives is a collection of related short stories wherein each is a snippet from a woman's life and each shot in one uninterrupted episode. Their themes include parent-child relationships, fractured love, adultery, illness, and death.It is a series of overlapping vignettes, each one running about the same length and told in a single, unbroken take, featuring an ensemble cast that includes Sissy Spacek,Glenn Close,Holly Hunter,Lisa Gay Hamilton,Kathy Baker,Amanda Seyfried,Amy Brenneman,Robin Wright Penn and Elpidia Carrillo among many othersIn these episodes, Holly has a brief moment of reverie while confronting the specters of her past in her old neighborhood. Maggie escorts her young daughter Maria to a cemetery as they visit the graves of their family members. Ruth is a married woman contemplating an affair while visiting Henry in his hotel room. Diana unexpectedly runs into an old boyfriend, Damian, while shopping for groceries. Camilla is a hospital patient awaiting surgery for cancer.Samantha is a teenage girl who helps look after her handicapped father Larry. Sandra is a female prison inmate who is expecting a visit from her children. Sonia lashes out at her boyfriend Martin when she finds out he's been cheating on her. And Lorna has an unexpectedly moving encounter with her ex-husband Andrew as she pays her respects to his second wife, who has just passed away. The film is bolstered by a strong and talented cast ensemble and it features many insightful glimpses into the lives of women from different walks of life.The stories are sketches, often without resolution, and while individual segments succeed admirably, taken together the portraits are a fitful match.Also,it is a movie that demands concentration of the viewer to get the rewards the one is willing to pay attention.Although it is far from a perfect film and some episodes are more interesting and more entertaining than the others,it remains a delight to see.

grettahansing I am so sad to have to rate this a 1 out of 10. It was a total 10 until the out-of-the-blue ending. The actors were fabulous. You just have to know going into it that nothing is really resolved or figured out by the viewer. You watch very engaging snippets of women's harried lives, yet the whole experience leaves the viewer wanting more. More of an explanation, more of a follow-through. It's like reading the middle of a wonderfully gripping book, but then having no beginning and no ending. Each chapter on each woman had so much depth and intrigue, but again, you never find out why things are like they are or where things are going when they could take on so many different pathways. There's so much potential to see where the women end up, or what decisions they make based on little morsels of potential truths. I felt I was led to believe there would be more, but then the movie was over. I was disappointed, all in all.

SSBunny45 To think that this movie was not recognized by any bigger award nominations is astounding. The fact that this movie was not recognized or more popular nationally is heartbreaking. EVERY single actress and actor in this movie gave amazing performances. The audience felt the emotion in every single second, and it is a great testament to all of their talents. Sadly, many people will overlook this movie just because it wasn't popular. Words cannot describe the power and ache this movie leaves you feeling. You are saddened and left wanting more, and it is a great attribute of the film. You get just enough of a glimpse to understand these people, but you are still wondering more about each character as the movie progresses. I was blown away. This movie was written so wonderfully and you can feel the heart that was put into making it as well. This movie is a great representation of everyday struggles that women face, the heartache and the sadness that many have to deal with. It was so moving and just a great movie to watch and interpret. Leaves you thinking... GREAT!

WarpedRecord "Nine Lives" features outstanding performances and remarkable direction, but as with many films with multiple story lines, you're likely to become frustrated trying to piece the vignettes together.Similar in structure to Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" and the films of Alejandro González Iñárritu, who served as executive producer, "Nine Lives" features nine vignettes of women in emotional crises. Each scene is shot in a single take with a Steadicam, which is a remarkable achievement considering the elaborate choreography many of these scenes require.The performances are uniformly excellent, but special credit must be give to Robin Wright Penn as an expectant mother who runs into her old boyfriend in a supermarket and Lisa Gay Hamilton as a troubled young woman who has a score to settle with her father. Several of the characters make cameos in other scenes, but the film offers no great "voila" moments where all the relationships fall into place.While the whole of "Nine Lives" is less than the sum of its parts, this is a worthwhile film for its remarkable cast and well-directed scenes.