An unsleeping light drapes the darkened sky. An eerie desolation fills the landscape. The ground is hard and course. A stage set ready for adventure and story telling. Yet despite the obvious aesthetic quality and charm of the characters, Tim Burton’s movie Nine fails to satisfy both with its story and the worldview it conveys.
A band of nine strangely doll like, yet somehow robotic characters, join together to fight a machine ridden world. Only the small flecks and speckles of human civilisation endure. The film is dark, and suspended sense of horror is sustained through the film. The tone is melancholic at best, and provides not one moment of comic relief. This sombre film is in my opinion too scary and unnerving for children, its intended audience. Yet the thin plot, a ninety minute endeavour to destroy a single machine, fails to satisfy the adult viewer also.
As the story progresses, the nine heroes suffer numerous casualties. Confusingly however, once the remaining couple destroy our villain, the souls of fallen characters, which bear a peculiar shade of translucent green, are released back into the world. These souls represent their maker, the last human on earth. The message of this film is ultimately humanistic. Although mankind is extinguished for their folly and arrogance, the souls of those freed, ultimately depicts a world in which folly counts for nothing. Humans are victorious, despite the circumstances. Although it may provoke discussion, this film will leave children puzzled and confused and will prove in no way edifying.
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