Nine Days movie review: Winston Duke gives the best performance of his career

I first saw Nine Days while attending AFI Fest 2020. After watching it, I immediately watched it again less than 24 hours later. The release kept being pushed back and back and back again, but the time has come as the movie is hitting theaters this week. So I sat down and rewatched it for the third time, and every emotion I felt ten months ago came back and even harder.

When you think back, parents recall your first steps, and you remember your first teachers, first kiss, first date, and today we look at the first feature from Edison Oda. So you may wonder why I begin this journey through Nine Days here.

We’ve often seen movies challenge the idea of what life is like after death, but Oda looks at what life is before life. He begs the question to us.

Nine Days asks what it’s like to be alive

Throughout this poetic journey he takes us on, we self-reflect on our own first, but he also forces us to dig deeper and showcase that life is full of repeatable events. Most of us wake up, go to work, come home, eat dinner, rinse, recycle, and repeat. Is that what it’s like to be alive?

The first act is built with this found footage style of various people living their lives while Amanda is preparing for her concerto. The mystery surrounding what transpires is enriched by this unearthing score that is somewhat uneasy to hear and emotionally connecting you to this world.

The pact leader is Will (Winston Duke), this somewhat tone-death man in charge of finding those who they will give life too. Will gets together a group of individuals, and when he does, he challenges them with questions and gives them a task, which includes watching so many other lives on TV.

As we begin to peel back each person’s layers going through this process, Will vets them with ideas and goals to see how they perform in certain circumstances. Every move that’s made, Will takes notes. His job is to get in the individual’s mind and determine if they are worthy enough to take this next step.

Throughout this process, you begin to think about what you would do in these people’s shoes. What would life be like if you can watch people live? How would we react to watching these strangers go through the emotional roller coaster of life? Would we attach ourselves to their journeys? Become obsessed? What would you do?

Technically speaking, the film’s emotional weight begins on the harmonic tone of this violin, and the score carries you throughout the movie. Antonio Pinto’s score brought me to my knees several times and reminded the audience how important a score is to a film. Oda makes the score is its own character, and it thrives because of that.

Winston Duke is brilliant in Nine Days

Winston Duke not only gives the best performance of his career but one of the best performances of the year. Will is giving potential life to others, and while he does it throughout the film, he embodies the idea of ‘life’ but in this lifeless way where every move feels like he is over-excreting himself. Winston had the mannerisms and characteristics that makes Will work. From posture to facial expressions to the way words fell off his tongue, I was captivated by every intricacy of Will in a way that put me in his mind.

As the conclusion of our film nears, chills run down my spine as we witness Will break down the barrier of which was uncharacteristic of anything we had seen from him yet. We saw the life inside of HIM pour out onto the screen as his words were powerful, and they soar through the air as you hang onto every last breath. You are Will, Winston is Will, and we have witnessed the birth of a new life within this moment.

I leave you with this if you could relive one moment in your life before you died, what would it be?