NINE LIVES: The One Where Kevin Spacey Plays A Cat

On a whim, I picked up Nine Lives from the library last week. I was equally enthused by its slogan (“His life just got put on paws”) and the prospect of seeing Christopher Walken as a cat whisperer. Not to mention, Kevin Spacey plays a reincarnated feline.

What unfolded over the next hour and a half was more or less what you would expect from a pet-centric family film: a few laughs strewn in with physical comedy and some pretty heavy sentimentality. Overall, a flop. But there were a few ironically happy surprises along the way.

Impressive Camerawork

The film opens with an establishing shot that must have come with a massive budget. We move across water in a fast paced boat, smoothly panning the city scape before taking off in a flight above the buildings, where we meet an airplane that seats Tom Brand (Kevin Spacey).

In a scene that could have been out of a Wes Anderson film, businessman Brand goes over materials for an upcoming press conference and rejects marketing pitches while perched on the edge of the plane’s interior in full sky diving gear.

The camera swoops backward after staying stagnant for Tom’s rooftop press conference. We are taken back, through the city into a press conference room of another, lower skyscraper.

The film does feature some brief, snappy moments, starting out strong in the dialog department. While the two are seated in the airplane, Brand’s assistant (also his son) tells Brand, “I’m supposed to remind you Lara has left two messages.” Brand replies, “Why is she calling?” to which his son answers, “Because she’s your wife.”

This flat, to-the-point comedic exchange brings to mind films the likes of Fantastic Mr Fox– if Mr Fox were a self-consumed businessman. Unfortunately, after the opening scenes, Nine Lives returns to a conventional (largely poorly written) narrative, with only a comedic quip here and there to keep it afloat.

“Manning Up” & the Illusionary Matriarch

In another cutesy Anderson-esque move, Tom’s son, David, opens a present from his father to reveal a sky diving suit with a card that reads, “for when you’re man enough!” Unfortunately, the theme of “manning up” continues throughout the film, and not in a satirical way.

David Brand, an important side character, wants only to win the affection of his father. He literally jumps from a building to win his father’s respect, prompting Tom to admit, “You were a man all along.”

It’s amazing to me how a film centered on a father-daughter relationship apparently still needs to link back to patriarchal nonsense. We get it: Tom is proud of his son. But is there really no better way of expressing this affection other than welcoming his son into so-called manhood? This trajectory reminds me of Captain Fantastic, when Ben tells his son, “Today, a boy has died. And in his place… is a man.” Words like that give me the heebie jeebies.

For the first third of the film, Jennifer Garner, also known as Lara, plays the ultimate matriarch. She and her husband, Tom, play out tired roles (he is the husband who doesn’t spend enough time with his kid and she is wife who won’t stop calling) but there is a nice twist here where Lara gets the last word.

Lara decides that their daughter will attend a fancy charity dinner with them. She even makes a speech at the event, verbally committing her husband to another seven years of hosting the dinner.

Of course, this tongue in cheek method only gives Lara superficial power, since the narrative does not hold up to any serious feminist commitment. In fact, for last two thirds of the film,  Lara’s only role is to continue the narrative.

Cats & Mysticism

Nine Lives is in the same vein of films like Liar Liar, in which Jim Carrey plays a father who prioritizes business over spending time with his own son. Both movies feature a turning point on the child’s birthday and both play on mystical elements.

It is always fascinating to me when mystical or supernatural beliefs coincide with mainstream films and media. Typically speaking, children are the first to understand what is going on, which reflects and reinforces the belief that children are naturally more intuitive than adults. Of course, the adults never believe the children, at least not until the supernatural element has been proven time and time again. This plot-line can be seen in Nine Lives, when Tom Brand’s daughter, Rebecca, comes to understand that her father has been reincarnated as a cat.

Oddly enough, one of the film’s stand-out characteristics is its casual portrayal of alcohol as a coping mechanism. When Spacey dies, his son sits in his father’s office, drinking scotch. His mother — Spacey’s ex wife– calls it “chicken soup for grief.” (This movie is rated PG, by the way.)

During his first night as a cat, Spacey taps into his liquor collection, getting drunk off of 40 year old scotch. Alcohol consumption is a central joke throughout the film, shown as a method of dealing with the unpleasant things in life, like losing your business or, you know, spontaneously inhabiting a cat’s body. I am still shocked by this bizarre humor around drinking (when was alcohol ever funny?), which really makes me wonder what the writers were thinking.

Conclusion

So Nine Lives may have made a smooth $10 million less than its estimated budget of $30 million, but at least there were a few saving graces: we got to see Kevin Spacey embodied as a cat and experienced some pretty cutting edge cinematography and animation along the way. Don’t go in expecting many laughs, unless you find alcoholism and talking pets funny. But do expect to be entertained by Christopher Walken‘s incredible bow ties and delightfully creepy cat whisperer voice.

Is Nine Lives really as bad as critics have suggested?

Nine Lives is now available to watch on VOD and various streaming services internationally.