At a Glance

THE NINES is a complex, thought-provoking work divided into three sections and featuring the same actors playing different roles, with the number nine always lurking in the background. In 'The Prisoner,' Ryan Reynolds plays Gary, a TV star who has been placed under house arrest after going crazy because his girlfriend dumped him. He is watched closely by Margaret, a publicist who seems to know more than she is letting on, and by neighbour Sarah, who is instantly attracted to him. In 'Reality Television' Reynolds is a director named Gavin who is shooting a TV pilot starring McCarthy, but he's getting mixed signals from studio executive Susan, all while being filmed for a television reality program. And in 'Knowing', Reynolds is Gabriel, the character in the TV pilot that Gavin was shooting, with McCarthy playing his wife, Mary, and Davis as a mysterious stranger deciding whether she should help the family, whose car has broken down on a deserted mountain. Certain minute elements repeat in each part, giving clues as to what it's all really about as fantasy and reality intertwine.

Detailed Information

The Nines consists of three inter-linked stories, each featuring the same actors in different —and sometimes overlapping— roles.

“The Prisoner” tells the story of a troubled television star (Ryan Reynolds) who finds himself under house arrest, with his chipper publicist (Melissa McCarthy) and disillusioned next-door neighbor (Hope Davis) providing his only links to the outside world.
Mysterious events lead him to question whether one or both women are deceiving him about the nature of his incarceration.

“Reality Television” is a half-hour episode of “Behind the Screen,” a Project Greenlight-style documentary series tracking the process of creating a network television drama. Having shot the pilot, creator/showrunner Gavin Taylor (also Ryan Reynolds) faces post-production with the help of his best friend (and lead actress) Melissa McCarthy and development VP Susan Howard (Hope Davis).

“Knowing” finds an acclaimed videogame designer (also Ryan Reynolds) and his wife (Melissa McCarthy) facing car trouble deep in the woods. Their daughter (Elle Fanning) uncovers information which leads to a difficult and irrevocable choice.

Together, the three stories form a single narrative that explores the relationships between author and character, actor and role, creator and creation. Alternately funny and unsettling, The Nines is like a riddle where the answer is the question: “How does it all add up?”