Nine Days
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: July 30, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodFeb 1, 2020
Nine Days is the sort of original cinematic art that, these days, is few and far between. Read full review
90
Screen RantDebopriyaa DuttaAug 6, 2021
Thoughtful and hauntingly beautiful in style and treatment, Nine Days emerges as a sublime slice of cinema that sincerely tugs at the heartstrings. Read full review
90
Paste MagazineJacob OllerJul 29, 2021
Nine Days marks Oda as one of our most exciting new directors, a filmmaker possessing an innovative cinematic mind with a heart to match. Read full review
90
VarietyPeter DebrugeFeb 1, 2020
Nine Days is that rare work of art that invites you to re-consider your entire worldview. Read full review
90
Film ThreatLorry KiktaFeb 1, 2020
Edson Oda’s script is incredible. It asks so many philosophical questions without being preachy or pedantic. It successfully reminds us how precious all of our lives are, which is no small feat. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsAug 5, 2021
The movie proceeds in quiet, reflective tones, subtly energized by a fully realized visual environment and a clever variety of editing rhythms. Nine Days transcends the potential limitation and occasional strain of its premise. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyJul 30, 2021
The strength of Nine Days is not so much the scenario (although that is imaginative and well-constructed) but the mood Oda sets, the clarity with which he establishes this world, how it operates, its rules and traditions. Read full review
85
Film ThreatAlan NgOct 18, 2020
Great science-fiction storytelling is not going to come from the big studios anymore. We will find it from new filmmakers with big ideas and very little money. But thankfully, big ideas attract big talent (then hopefully big money), and that’s what we have with Edson Oda’s Nine Days. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeDec 22, 2021
Nine Days is, in its subdued way, a profound and powerful commentary on life. Read full review
80
Rolling StoneDavid FearAug 2, 2021
It’s heavy, heady stuff, coming at you via a delivery system of catalog-worthy set design, magic-hour cinematography, and often tamped-down, deadpan performances. And somehow, it all works in harmony to create a ripple effect of feeling that reverberates strongly under its placid surfaces. Read full review
80
Screen DailyAnthony KaufmanFeb 1, 2020
All in all, Nine Days is a stellar feature debut, with strong filmmaking, from its assured compositions to its superb dimly lit frames, where shafts of outside light or wall lamps illuminate slivers of the sets. And Winston Duke, who appears in just about every scene in the film, offers a complex portrait of a wounded man. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesAug 5, 2021
In fact, I liked wrestling with Nine Days, liked feeling the act of moviewatching as an active, not passive, one, and the way Antonio Pinto’s strings-forward score nudged my brain to stop churning long enough for pure emotion to kick in Read full review
75
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenAug 16, 2021
Nine Days is slow going at first—it sometimes feels as if the title is a reference to its running time—but eventually this pensive, existential thought experiment blossoms into something more cinematic. Read full review
75
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanAug 6, 2021
Nine Days is, in the end, meant as a wake-up call: a bracing splash of fake seawater in the face that somehow, against all logic, feels like the real thing. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperAug 6, 2021
This is a movie that introduces you to a bold and original concept and asks you to just go with it, and if you’re willing to take the leap of faith (in more ways than one), you’ll find this to be a unique and special fable. Read full review
70
We Got This CoveredScott CampbellAug 3, 2021
Nine Days is a fascinating, thought-provoking and incredibly moving feature directorial debut from Edson Oda. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyFeb 1, 2020
For all the film's intellectual pretensions, both good and bad, Duke's great gravitas and Beetz' spontaneity lift the film partway out of its quasi-spiritual morass; they provide a hint of the real, of a beating heart, even if the drama itself exists in a parched desert realm devoid of actual life. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayJul 28, 2021
More often than not, it’s better when filmmakers have a point-of-view, a sense of style, and something to say—all of which is undeniably true of Oda. But Nine Days resonates at such a distinct frequency that some may find it hauntingly beautiful (and have found it so, ever since the film debuted at Sundance back in 2020) while others may find it much too blaring. Read full review
67
IndieWireEric KohnFeb 1, 2020
There’s certainly enough here to provoke meaningful questions that transcend the boundaries of the frame, and Nine Days hits a commendable note about the value of embracing life’s unpredictable turns. But no matter its celestial implications, the movie can’t shake the impression of a brilliant concept that never takes flight. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliAug 5, 2021
Although Oda’s debut offers glimpses of a potentially gifted director, the project feels unfinished and fails to match his impressive vision with an equally compelling story. Read full review
60
The GuardianLeslie FelperinDec 16, 2021
Although arguably a smidge too ponderous and self-serious for its own good, Nine Days still represents a reasonably promising debut for its writer-director Edson Oda. Read full review
60
The New York TimesGlenn KennyJul 29, 2021
The narrative conceits of Nine Days, while exquisitely constructed, are intricate to the point of laborious. At times the movie almost sinks under their weight. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleBob StraussAug 5, 2021
At the very least, it marks the arrival of a filmmaker with great potential. It also presents a metaphysical vision that’s quite peculiar and not very persuasive if you can’t get on its generous wavelength. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineWes GreeneJul 26, 2021
Writer-director Edson Oda never really puts a unique spin on the familiar story of otherworldly figures peering in on the lives of the living. Read full review
45
TheWrapElizabeth WeitzmanJul 29, 2021
When a movie doesn’t hold up to introspection as a whole, it’s best to examine its parts. And some of those are admirable. Read full review
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